The Misadventures of John and Cameron
by benjammindeth
Summary: Follows Night Out. The bomb has gone off, and John and Sarah do what they have to. John/Cameron. I've run out of inspiration for TSCC.
1. Breakfast & Briefing

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**October 30, 2007 06:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

The alarm clock across the room blared, and Sarah Connor begrudgingly awoke to silence it. 'Might as well shower, given that I'm up already.' As she opened the door, she saw one of the bedroom doors cracked open, and decided to look in there first. She opened the door only to find an empty, unmade bed and Cameron tinkering with a fusion pistol.

Cameron looked up from her project and said, "Good morning, Sarah."

She groggily replied, "Morning, yes. Good, questionable."

"What makes this morning questionable?"

Sarah sighed and explained. "Well, aside from getting Derek's nose fixed, he and I went to an Italian restaurant called Olive Garden. We're not going back there."

"I don't understand. Did something go wrong?"

"He had a few drinks and was... louder than usual."

Cameron tilted her head in the way she did when she encountered something she didn't understand and asked, "Did he make comments considered socially unacceptable?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and answered, "Yeah, enough to get us kicked out and told to never come back."

"How many alcoholic beverages did he consume?"

"TEN beers. He almost fell off the bike on our way back."

Cameron straightened her head and stated, "It doesn't seem normal for him to drink that much alcohol."

"Well, after the first four he didn't care about how his nose felt, and he wanted to forget the fight in the kitchen last night."

"John and I cleaned up the blood before we left."

Sarah was relieved to hear it. "Good. I have to shower, then I'll make breakfast. Pancakes and WD-40 for you?"

"Bacon and Rem Oil, actually."

"And where exactly did you pick up a taste for those?"

Cameron had a contemplative look on her face as she said, "It appears that my presentation of humor has room for improvement."

Sarah didn't know whether to laugh or be very worried. "Did some program tell you to make jokes to try and fit in?"

The cyborg shook her head and answered, "No. I did that on my own."

"Right, because apparently you're not all code and subroutines."

"I consciously decide what to say when dealing with you, Derek, and most importantly, John. I use a 'canned response' program when dealing with others in 95 percent of conversations."

"Do the males of the house know that?"

"Derek doesn't care, and John hasn't asked about it."

"And if he asks?"

"I'll explain it to him. Why do you act the way you do in regards to me?"

"What?"

"When you interact with me, you're either indifferent or borderline hostile, despite the fact that I fight for humanity. Why?"

Sarah sighed and steeled herself for explaining her attitude. "Okay, you're different. And as far as I can tell, John's happy with you. I don't like it, but I can live with that." She moved closer, leaving them nose-to-nose as she went on, "But I will never forget that a MACHINE took Kyle Reese from me. You may be more like a human than the one that killed him, and you may be on our side, but at the end of the day, you were built as a machine. It's impossible for me to forget that. And there's nothing I can do to change it."

"You're grieving over Kyle's death 16 years later, 24 if you count the time we skipped over. It's considered unhealthy to grieve over someone that long."

"And where did you hear that?"

Cameron remodulated her voice to sound like the Model 101 default as she explained, "Basic psychology is among my subroutines."

"Do you have all the Terminator default voices in your chip somewhere?"

She reverted to her own voice and replied, "Yes. SkyNet deemed those vocal modulations necessary to include in the databanks of all Terminators."

"Whatever. Now, what exactly were you doing when I came in?"

"I was attempting to convert this fusion pistol into a phaser, similar to the handheld units seen in Star Trek: First Contact."

Sarah's jaw dropped. She absolutely could not believe that Cameron would possess the inventive streak to do something like that. "I'm glad someone can figure it out. I wouldn't understand any of it."

To Cameron's credit, she didn't make a snide remark but instead commented, "I may need John's help with this project, but it would be an excellent learning experience for both of us. He is nearly finished with his CPU interface."

"Good. I'm going to clean up now."

"I'll give a briefing on the arsenal and security systems after breakfast."

* * *

**06:55**

John Connor slowly awoke to see Cameron kneeling by the right side of his bed with a smile on her face. His own lips twitched upward and he asked her, "Hey Cam, how long have you been there?"

"Two minutes. I heard you moving and decided to come in."

"When someone's waking up, it's called 'stirring.'"

She noted the term for future reference and asked him, "How did you sleep?"

"Better than usual. What did you do all night?"

"I patrolled the perimeter for two hours, five minutes and nine seconds, then I discovered more about the security systems built into the house. I already told Sarah that I'd brief everyone after breakfast."

John sat up, stretched and asked, "What about the rest of the time?"

"I put the other Terminators away and tried to convert a fusion pistol into a phaser."

"Like on Star Trek?"

"Yes." She sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around him as she said, "I thought about you all night."

"I thought about you too. I love you, Cameron."

"I love you too, John."

Just as their lips met, they heard Sarah declare that breakfast was ready. They pulled away, and Cameron told him, "I'll see you downstairs."

* * *

**07:22**

After everyone had eaten, Cameron started her briefing with, "Durandal provided us with elaborate security systems and an arsenal suitable for most threats."

Derek was the first to ask, "What exactly did he leave us?"

"50 Glock 19 pistols, 500 15-round magazines, 3 million rounds of Federal Hydra-Shok 124-grain ammunition, 20 fusion pistols, and 600 batteries. Carter and the other Terminator are also there, in the cryogenic vault where I put them yesterday."

The older man asked, "Wait, cryo vault? Where would Durandal put this stuff?"

"The shed covers one access point to the underground portion of this enclave. The other is in the closet under the stairs."

John spoke up and asked, "Why would we need giant freezers in the first place?"

"If we're deactivated and exposed to the elements for too long, out skin will start to rot and degrade. It's a problem common to all flesh-covered machines. Also, the belts will prove useful."

John asked, "No offense, but what makes those belts so special?"

"They contain personal energy shield generators and continuously recharge the shields on their own."

John casually snarked, "Durandal to the rescue."

Sarah asked her, "What about the security systems?"

"There are turreted particle beam weapons hidden in the structure. I had to look at the schematics of the house to find them, their energy signatures were hidden from my optics."

The embittered Resistance fighter concluded, "And if you can't see them, neither can SkyNet's machines."

"Good to know. John, Cameron, I want you two to work together today. Get your various projects either done or close to it. Derek, you rest and let your nose heal." Turning to Cameron, she said, "I'm going to see about school for you and John."

Derek snorted and dismissively said, "You're wasting your time and his, Sarah." He looked at John and added, "Nursery rhymes and art class never did anything to prevent Judgment Day."

"I don't like it either, but if she and I don't go to school and blend in, the neighbors are going to ask questions."

"Tell them you're home-schooled. From what I've heard, it's not like you weren't before."

Cameron turned to Sarah and told her, "Both of their arguments are valid, but John is exposed to more risk by going to school."

"Thank you for stating the obvious." She asked, "John, what do you think?"

John rubbed his chin and thought about his mother's question, then answered, "Let's deal with SkyNet. If we prevent Judgment Day, then I'll worry about education."

Sarah decided that John's skull was too thick and she needed to get through it. "Those who fail to learn from history-"

"Are doomed to repeat it. As if that hasn't been drilled into my head throughout my life."

Derek jerked a thumb at Cameron as he said, "Get her to teach you all that stuff. May as well make herself useful."

Cameron threateningly asked him, "Would you like the rest of your ugly face broken?"

He merely shook his head in annoyance and sulked off to his room. Sarah gave the two of them a look that said, 'Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone.' She then left to investigate area schools.

John asked Cameron, "What's wrong with Derek? Is he insane?"

"No. When I met him, he was angry and very, very broken. He and I came from different timelines, but I calculate that he is a 92 percent match to the Derek Reese I knew. The complexities of time travel and alternate timelines sometimes confuse me."

John couldn't help but chuckle at her admission. Cameron asked him, "What is humorous?"

"You're not alone. My entire existence revolves around these time loops and I have trouble sorting it all out."

"Let's not concern ourselves with temporal mechanics for now. The CPU interface is closer to completion than my attempt at building a phaser."

John knew they needed to get to work, so he replied, "OK, but there's one other project to get to first."

Cameron asked him, "What project is that?"

"Making your bed. I told you I'd help you."

She smiled as she said, "I'm glad you remember. After that we have a computer to build."

John grinned, took her hand and responded,"All right. Let's go."

They ascended the stairs, made her bed in less than two minutes, and then went into his room to build the CPU interface.


	2. Insert rewrite here: Vick's Chip Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**October 30, 2007 08:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

John Connor looked at the project laid out on his bed: two PlayStation 3 consoles had been stripped down and he had finished the hardware connections to combine their processing power so that he could hack Terminator CPUs. He turned to Cameron and joked, "You know, compared to what you're used to working with, this must be like... building your own grandparents or something."

Cameron knew that the remains of a Series 800 Model 101 Terminator had been found at a Cyberdyne Systems factory in 1983, and that Miles Dyson had been reverse-engineering them in an attempt advance technology. She also knew that Cyberdyne's destruction in 1994 by Sarah, John, Dyson, and the reprogrammed 'Uncle Bob' had delayed Judgment Day, and therefore her creation. "Perhaps. A more fitting situation was when I was among the robots at the hotel where the chess tournament was held."

John remembered that hotel; it was where Andy Goode had been murdered. "Really?"

She elaborated, "Specifically, the robots and computers in the lobby. I have always been aware of my origins, but to see it personally was... amazing."

He had a contemplative look on his face when he said, "Probably something like how I felt when you took me out to see Earth, back on the moon."

She remembered how amazed he had been to see their home planet from the lunar surface. "Something like that. What does the CPU interface need to be usable?"

"Well, it's usable now, but I'd like to make a case for it."

"A case will be useful to take it elsewhere if required."

"That's the point. Well, that and I can put it away when I don't need it. Not to mention keep the hardware from being fried by static electricity."

"Electrostatic discharge is not an issue for neural net processors built starting in 2024."

"You might be resistant to it, but modern-day electronics have to be handled carefully. I mean, just a little charge can ruin expensive equipment."

"Yes it can. Which chip would you like to look at first?"

John considered his options. 'I'd love to know how Carter got out, but the other one probably killed the rest of Derek's squad.' Aloud, he said, "The other one. Why was it sent here?"

"I don't know. Now is the time to find out." She took his hand and told him, "The chips are in the basement near the cryogenic vault."

"Let's go then."

* * *

**08:06**

John and Cameron entered the basement, although to call it that would have been an understatement.

He quietly exclaimed, "Cam, for a basement, this place is huge!"

Cameron casually commented, "There's another level below this one that houses the fusion reactor."

If John had been able to detach his jaw, it would have hit the floor with a resounding thud. "How did Durandal build all this so quickly?"

"I don't know. If he returns, we should ask him."

"No kidding. Where did you say the chips were?"

She didn't say anything but led him over to a table near a large metal door with block lettering that read 'CRYOGENIC STORAGE' painted on it. She grabbed the CPU of the Terminator they didn't have an alias for yet and gave it to him.

He turned it over in his hand and asked her, "Am I making a mistake with this chip thing? Do I want to see what's on it? Please, tell me now."

She considered what she was going to say, then answered, "What we discover will most likely be unpleasant, but it may help us fight SkyNet."

John and Cameron started walking back toward his room when he said, "Thank you for being honest with me. It helps."

She looked curious as she asked, "Have other girls been dishonest with you?"

He sighed mightily and replied, "Yeah, some have. I guess I had it coming, though, what with using aliases all the time." John held up his hand and continued, "I know, if I use my real name, I may as well put up a big-ass neon sign saying 'Kill Me!,' but I don't have to like using fake names and histories. Even though my real history is too weird for most people to believe."

Cameron kept pace with him as she processed what he had just told her. 'He mentioned this before I came back.' Aloud she replied, "It's necessary, for now. We'll see how events play out."

"I guess." They reached his room and he quipped, "Time to see if this thing works." He moved the CPU interface to the desk in his room, connected everything, then inserted the chip into the receiving end of the USB-to-Terminator-CPU cable he and Cameron had built. His monitor displayed a mass of indecipherable symbols, flitting to and fro in rows and columns all over the screen of his laptop.

"Cameron, do you have any idea how to read this?"

"No. SkyNet must have had different reference coding for Terminators in this unit's home timeline. My reference coding appears in English."

"Huh."

Cameron grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to John. She snaked her arm around his shoulders and asked him, "How much power are you giving the chip?"

John hit a few keys and a power meter program appeared onscreen. "We're running at 2.5 volts."

She explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "My CPU requires a minimum of 6.2 and a maximum of 8.7 continuous voltage in order to function properly."

"Well that much juice will burn out any modern-day processor I've ever seen."

Cameron knew that neither of them wanted the processors to fail, so she came up with an alternative. "Access to visual memory will require less power than higher-level functions."

John's curiosity was piqued. "Higher-level functions?"

"Decision making. Strategic mission analysis. We don't want to activate those functions."

"So, crank the juice but not too much?"

"Yes. Crank the juice."

He turned the power up to three volts and various clips of video mixed with one another.

"Wow, what a mess. How exactly do you keep your brain organized?"

"Categorically."

"I guess that's the easiest way to go about it."

"It is."

He increased power to 3.5 volts and the video became more coherent. It settled on a room with white lighting and a large number of Terminators sharing the same Model. They looked at the unit whose POV John and Cameron were viewing. Then the video flickered, then showed the lone Terminator chasing a woman through a forested area at night. It changed again, then showed a woman laying in bed. She rolled over to look at the unit and she asked, "Vick, god, you poor thing. You're up again?" The video cut to the chase briefly, then back to the woman who said, "I told you, just take one of my pills." It jumped again, then she requested, "Fine, babe, come back to bed. I can't sleep with you standing there like a statue." She reached up and the Terminator's hand reached out to take hers.

The Terminator turned to look in the mirror, sat down on the bed, then it looked at a photograph of his template and the woman. He had his arm around her shoulders, and they were both smiling. The video jumped again before it cut out.

John asked Cameron as he turned his head to look at her, "Was that thing... married?"

"Series 888 Terminators are SkyNet's most advanced infiltrators."

"What about that 900?"

"Series 900 Terminators are capable of infiltration, but were designed primarily for combat. They are also heavier than their predecessors."

"Heavier..." John thought for a minute, then asked her, "Cameron, were there any working scales in the future?"

'Scales? Oh, weighing scales.' "No. They were all destroyed on Judgment Day."

"Damn. If we can't weigh our soldiers, it's no wonder your counterparts can get into our bases."

"SkyNet made advances in materials science and manufacturing. My mass is 65 kilograms without clothing."

John's jaw tried to hit the floor again. He had a pretty good idea of how strong she was, but he had no idea that she could be that light and still be built from metal alloys. Then he processed the last part of what she said and remembered their arrival in 2007. 'Yeah, I got to see her naked, but my mom was there, and we were all naked anyway. That, and it was cold out!' He blushed, and was glad that he had only turned his head to look at her because he couldn't help but get hard at the thought of her in the nude.

Cameron saw him blush and thought to herself, 'Why is he... oh, the mental image of me, naked as the day I was built.'

John shook his head and asked, "I don't think she knows. I figure it's possible, but..."

"She would not be the first human fooled by a machine."

"You've got me there. I had no idea until you ran over Cromartie after getting shot in class. I have to wonder, though: Why didn't you just beat him up then and there? Why play dead at all?"

"It was the fastest way to get you to escape."

"Oh. Thank you again."

"You're welcome."

John tapped some keys, then another clip showed up. This one was during the day, and the woman was awake and dressed. She was pacing and she said, "I know I've been working a lot. And I know it's been hard for you, hanging around at home since your car accident. I thought we'd made progress." She sat down, put her hand on top of his, and pleaded with the Terminator, "Just talk to me, sweetie. Don't keep it inside. Please." The video skipped, then she said, "Please."

The feed cut to another scene, this time with the unit in a car and observing the woman getting out and locking her car. Another cut later, and they saw the Terminator's reflection in the glass as it checked the mailbox attached near the door. It pulled out several pieces of mail, which had the address of the house and they were addressed to, 'Mr. and Mrs. Vick Chamberlain.' Then the visual cut out entirely.


	3. Insert rewrite here: Vick's Chip Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has bothered to read and/or review so far. Positive reviews and constructive criticism are encouraging. Now sit back and enjoy!

**October 30, 2007 09:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

Cameron had seen the address on the computer monitor and already mapped out driving directions when she asked John, "Do you wish to investigate their residence?"

He knew that she wasn't just asking if he wanted to go with her. His gut told him that she was asking him to start becoming more active in fighting SkyNet, to be willing to put himself in danger to prevent Judgment Day, if only a little longer. The Terminators would still hunt him, even if he hid in a bunker until after the radiation dwindled down to a more human-tolerable level. He remembered her briefing at the table, when she told them what she knew about their not-so-humble abode and what it was stocked with.

John Hannibal Connor knew that either way, whether SkyNet took over or not, he needed to gain experience fighting and leading others.

He made up his mind and answered with a question of his own. "What are we waiting for, a written invitation?"

Cameron cocked her head as she asked, "Do we need one?"

John sighed, knowing that she didn't get the joke. "No, never mind. Let's gear up and go, shall we?"

"OK." They each grabbed a shield belt, backpack, Glock 19, three extra magazines, fusion pistol, two extra batteries, and leathers. John had donned his gear when something struck him.

He reached for his cell phone to call Sarah when Cameron said, "We should leave a note. Your mother may be busy and would not want to be interrupted."

He thought about it, figured that she was probably right, then told her, "You're getting better at this humanity thing."

Cameron was thankful that John was observant enough to notice. "Thank you. I have an excellent teacher."

He grinned and told her, "You're welcome." He then set about writing a note to his mother and uncle explaining what was happening.

After he finished writing, she asked him, "Should we wake Derek?"

"No, I heard him snoring."

Cameron rolled her eyes and informed him, "So did I. The ability to filter out noises at will is useful sometimes."

John was a little jealous, but didn't let it show. "I'll bet. Shall we get going?"

"Yes." They hopped on a bike and John drove while Cameron gave directions.

* * *

**09:36**

John and Cameron arrived at the residence of the Terminator known as Vick Chamberlain. She stood guard while he picked the lock.

He looked over to the mailbox and saw that it was full to bursting with unopened mail. He mused to no one in particular, "Wonder what she thinks happened to her husband."

"Mrs. Chamberlain is most likely dead."

John turned to look at her and asked, "You sure about that?"

"My calculations indicate the chances of her being dead at 99.99 percent."

He succeeded with the lock and opened the door as he thought to himself, 'She's getting better, but still needs work.' Out loud he gently told her, "For future reference, 'Yes' or 'No' will work."

She noted what he said, then asked, "Would you rather I not determine the probabilities?"

"No, that's it at all." Sighing he explained, "I'm trying to get better about this, but most people aren't patient enough to process a lot of information at once."

They entered the house and she scanned the building for threats. She found none and opined, "I've noticed that. It's a common problem with fully-organic beings."

He chuckled and replied, "Yeah, short lifespans and all that." He saw that the house had no signs of physical struggles or coercion. "He wasn't threatening her, or holding her captive. They lived here together."

"Are you sure about that?"

"99.99 percent."

They went into what appeared to be the den, and they saw the disarray of the place.

John said, "Computer's gone. Triple-eight probably scrapped it to cover his tracks."

Cameron saw a name on the paperwork. "Barbara Chamberlain, City Manager, Los Angeles. Her job consisted of infrastructural duties."

"No wonder SkyNet's interested. You think she has anything at all to do with the Turk?"

"I don't know, but it's unlikely."

"All right, let's pack what we can and get out of here before anyone thinks to call the cops."

Cameron didn't want to continuously use 'Yes' or 'No' answers, so she said, "Definitely."

* * *

**09:40**

Sarah Connor arrived at what she was starting to think of as the Connor Enclave and noticed that one of the bikes was missing from the garage. 'Derek, please don't be dumb enough to drive after last night.' She parked her own motorcycle and made her way into the kitchen when she saw the note on the table.

_Mom, Derek,_

_I hacked the chip from the 888 that came after us at the safe house. It used the name Vick Chamberlain, and was apparently married. Cameron and I are checking out the residence now. Hopefully we'll have information when we get back._

_I've locked the door to my room so that no one can damage the CPU interface._

-_John_

Sarah didn't know how to take what she had just read. On the one hand, she knew that John needed to take the lead in fighting SkyNet. 'On the other, he's a 15-year-old boy trying to fill a man's shoes.' She heard snoring and knew that Derek was still asleep. 'At least they didn't wake him. I'd hate to see what he's like on Ultram.'

* * *

**10:31**

John and Cameron arrived back at the Connor Enclave with full backpacks and a lot on their minds. They parked, got off the bike, closed up the garage and went into the kitchen where they saw Sarah with a cup of coffee. She asked them, "So how'd it go?"

They hefted their backpacks onto the table and said, "Both of these are chock-full of files we grabbed from where Vick and Barbara lived."

"I'll assume that Barbara's the wife."

John sighed and explained, "More likely was, if Cam knows how Terminators operate."

Cameron interjected with, "I do know how most Terminators are programmed to operate."

He continued, "Anyway, she was the city manager and Vick scrapped their computer to keep us from finding whatever it was she was working on."

Sarah raised an eyebrow in disbelief and asked, "But not the paper files?"

Cameron stated, "Computers are easy to hack into, and the low probability of breaking & entering told him not to burn the papers."

"Lucky for us."

John asked his mother, "Is Derek still asleep?"

She cracked a little smile and replied, "Yeah, the painkillers knocked him right out."

Derek groggily came down the stairs and informed them, "That they did, earlier. I just woke up a few minutes ago."

The older woman asked, "Morning again, Derek. Sleep well?"

"I needed a nap. What's going on?"

John quickly outlined everything that had gone on that morning, and the Resistance fighter simply said, "Have to agree with her on that one, Barbara's probably dead and buried somewhere."

Sarah didn't feel like dealing with another round of arguments, or worse, another fistfight, so she decided to step in. "John, you should get back to work on that chip. It may prove useful after all. Derek, care to join me in reading these files?"

"Why not? It's not like I'm up for a gunfight or anything." He opened one of the bags, grabbed some papers and started to read while Sarah pulled some more papers from the same bag.

John and Cameron ascended the stairs and made their way to his room, where he asked her, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to help you with Vick's chip. Two heads are better than one."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"From various Resistance fighters, including you."

"Well, it's true. Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

"Yes." They shared a brief put passionate kiss, then she quietly said, "I love you too, John."

"I know. Well, I guess it's back to work we go."

* * *

**10:45**

John had rebooted the hardware and hacked into Vick's memory again. He tapped a few keys, then his screen showed Barbara Chamberlain sitting across from the Terminator that posed as her husband with a partially empty glass and a bottle of red wine in view.

She somewhat fearfully asked, "Do you not wanna work on this? Because I do." Between video skips, she continued with, "I want us to be happy. I've made a decision- We're gonna figure out what we want. Together. I'm quitting my job. I'm-- I'm coming home."

After a cut to the chase scene, Vick said, "That's not a good idea, babe." Video skips interlaced with footage of the Terminator pouring Barbara more wine.

* * *

**A local school at the same time**

In the boy's locker room, a sports coach had just patted a young man on the back while telling him, "Way to go, Johnson."

A large man in a suit walked up to him, showed him his FBI badge, then said, "I need to speak to Eric Carlson."

The coach saw the badge, then looked at Agent Kester in disbelief and asked, "He in some sort of trouble?"

"No, no trouble. Where is he?"

"He just got outta gym class. Give him five to finish showering."

Kester ignored him and asked, "Eric Carlson?"

The coach interjected, "HEY!"

The young man he was looking at shook his head 'no,' so he moved on. He asked again, and another teenaged male indicated that he was not Eric Carlson. He asked yet again, and the next male pointed to another shower stall. Kester walked up to the singled-out dude and looked at him.

Eric Carlson saw the suited man and asked, "What seems to be the problem, sir?"

Cromartie compared the facial structure of Eric Carlson to John Connor and his scanning program told him, '**NO MATCH**.'

The coach came up to the suited man and said, "Hey!"

Cromartie turned to him and the coach let loose with, "Are you for real, buddy? You think I can't get you fired for that little peep show?"

The robot stared at him, then pushed the somewhat overweight man into the locker, apparently rendering him unconscious.

Eric worriedly exclaimed, "COACH!" He ran over to see if the man was OK.

Cromartie calmly stalked out of the locker room, intimidating some of the other students as he left.


	4. Insert rewrite here: Vick's Chip Pt 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**October 30, 2007 11:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

Something about John Connor and Cameron's ability to get paper copies of Barbara Chamberlain's files was bugging Sarah in the back of her mind. She asked Derek Reese, "Do you have any idea why Vick didn't shred or burn these files?"

He thought about it, compared it with what he had heard mere minutes before, and replied, "My best guess is that it left them to lead whoever found them into a trap."

"And it just so happens to be John and Cameron. Just what we all needed."

"Somehow, I don't think he and the machine will fall for it. Much as I hate to admit, it's pretty damn smart by itself, but put the two of them together and nothing is impossible."

Sarah chided him with, "Derek, you need to quit antagonizing Cameron, for your own personal safety."

Derek nonchalantly asked, "Thing fucking hates me anyway. Why should I?"

She couldn't fathom how little he cared for his own well-being. "Do you particularly care to get beaten up all the time?"

He rolled his eyes and told her, "Violence and dirty work is all they're good for. Even you should know that by now."

"Really? Should I? As wrong as it is, John's happy with Cameron. I won't deprive him of that."

"Sarah Connor, until my brother and that first metal showed up, you lived a normal life, and had grown to adulthood already."

"And your point is?"

"For Kyle and I, adult life started on Judgment Day when we saw the missiles flying off to blow up the world. He was eight, I was 15. I raised him because no one else was there to do it!"

"At least after the bombs fall, everyone will know the threat is real. I've had to raise John, for the most part by myself, knowing that to speak the truth would get me locked up and the key thrown away. And for a few years, it did!"

* * *

Upstairs, John had been hacking the chip again and saw yet another clip of the chase scene, only this time the Terminator known as Vick Chamberlain had caught the woman, snapped her neck, and thrown her down a hill until her body was stopped by a tree. Then Vick looked back toward the city before the feed cut out.

John sighed and asked Cameron, "Do you think that was Barbara?"

She replayed the video in her CPU, comparing the unknown woman to Barbara. "No. The differences in skeletal structure points are minute, but present."

"Someone else?"

"Possibly a threat to whichever of Barbara's projects that contributes to SkyNet's development. That's the most likely reason Vick killed her."

He sighed and said, "As depressing as that is, you're probably right."

"If you want, we could go look for her body tonight."

"Yeah, let's do that." He wrapped his right arm around Cameron's waist and pulled her closer.

Cameron didn't need to scan him to tell that he was unsettled. She gently turned his face so they were eye to eye, and she was overflowing with love as she reassured him, "It's OK, John. They won't get you. Not while I'm still alive."

"I know." He embraced her and whispered, "God I love you, Cameron."

"I love you too, John." She kissed him, and while their lips were locked their tongues met and danced around one another. 'This is new... and pleasurable.'

John had to pull away for air, and Cameron said, "I hate to ruin your mood, but we need to focus for now. We can resume this later."

"Oh, all right. What else is on here, anyway?" He tapped a few keys, and a different symbol flashed across his screen before a new video played.

The Vick unit was standing in the Chamberlain residence when it saw a man with a camera taking photographs of his house, and Barbara. The camera froze momentarily, then it brought up a Glock 17 pistol and racked the slide. The video cut to Vick in a car, watching her walk down the street in the mirror, and saw the same man following her again. The unknown man looked over his shoulder, and the video did a quick freeze again. The feed cut to an apartment building, and Vick busted open the door. Another man grabbed a handgun off the nearby table, but the bullets did not harm the Terminator. It shot all three men present, killing them. It strode up to them and identified each of them, shown as a camera freeze. Then that particular segment of Vick's memory ended.

John looked at Cameron, who had sat down next to him again, and said, "Well, this answers that question. Whoever this guy was, Vick followed him home, and killed him and his teammates."

"We should show this to Sarah and Derek."

"You sure?"

"There would be fewer questions about my loyalty from both of them."

John mulled over what she had just said for a few seconds, then mused, "Mom hasn't been too bad about it, although I think the fact that you don't just blindly follow orders has her on edge. Derek, well... you know how he is."

Cameron rolled her eyes and replied, "Unfortunately, I do."

He jibed, "Tell me something, is 'peacemaker' in my job description somewhere?"

"It is, in an unofficial capacity."

John snarked, "I guess. I just wish the two of you would quit trying to murder each other all the time."

"Is that all you wish for?"

"Well, no, but it's a start."

They heard from downstairs, "YOU TRY BEING LOCKED UP AND DRUGGED IN A NUTHOUSE SOMETIME!"

Cameron stated the obvious with, "They're arguing again."

John huffed and mused, "I swear, they feed off each other's hatred or something."

John got up and was already out the door and headed downstairs when Derek let loose with, "It'll be a miracle if John Connor will be able to fight and lead at all!"

The young man in question descended the staircase with Cameron close behind. He said, "Looking at our lives from an outside perspective, it's all perfect insanity! Now both of you quit your bitching, I found some more info on Vick's chip."

Sarah asked, "What'd you find?"

Cameron was about to answer, but John beat her to it. "If you'll agree to not try and murder each other for a few minutes, you can come watch for yourselves."

* * *

**11:57**

John had just finished showing Sarah and Derek the clips of Vick killing the other woman, and Derek's squad mates, when the older man said, "Sayles was always, uh... I loved him but he was an idiot sometimes. He was careless." He looked at the floor, then at Cameron and informed them, "I didn't know."

Sarah, on the other hand asked, "Are you sure this woman isn't Barbara?"

Cameron shook her head and told her, "Her skeletal structure points are not a match to Barbara Chamberlain."

John put in, "Cam and I were planning on heading out tonight to find this other woman's body anyway."

Derek declared, "We're all going."

He looked over at his uncle and asked, "You sure about that, what with the nose and everything?"

"I've survived worse than a broken nose. A lot worse."

Sarah retorted, "I'm sure you have, but there's no way in Hell you're driving."

"Who said I wanted to?"

John interrupted, "Mom, we're not going right now. That'll attract attention."

She sighed, then replied, "Alright then. In the meantime, find out what you can about what happened to Barbara."

"That shouldn't be too hard." He put in some commands, then the video started playing.

The Terminator was in the house it shared with Barbara. She was in the shower, and it walked over and opened the door. She smiled as she said to the machine she thought was her husband, "Do you realize that in 36 hours we'll be waking up in Tahiti? I can't believe you bought us tickets." The Terminator stroked her cheek, then it grabbed her by the neck and strangled her to death.

John looked at Cameron and admitted, "Well, you were right. She's dead."

Derek muttered, "I could have told you that."

Sarah immediately came back with, "You didn't know that."

"Not long after Kyle got out of Century, he told me that according to SkyNet's twisted sense of logic, and I quote, 'Humans are to be used as labor, or terminated.' That's how I knew she was dead. Well, that and machines are thorough. Only good thing about 'em."

John decided to change the subject. "So, either of you find anything yet?"

Sarah answered, "From the set of files I had grabbed earlier, I only understood a third of what I read."

Derek replied, "Whatever she was working on, it had potential. I saw a memo about going statewide with something or other. It didn't say what, though."

The Future Leader of Mankind snarked, "Sounds like the government. 'Let not the left hand know what the right is doing,' and all that."

"We'll worry about that later. John, I want you and Cameron to extract every single scrap of information you can from Vick's chip."

The Resistance fighter said, "I guess that leaves us to go back to reading."

The Mother of the Future Leader of Mankind rolled her eyes and answered, "Yes it does, Derek." With that, John's mother and uncle left he and Cameron alone to sit in front of a computer... again.


	5. Insert rewrite here: Vick's Chip Pt 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**October 31, 2007 08:05 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

The previous night, Team Connor had returned from a forested area not too far from their current house. They had gone out looking for a dead woman based on what they had seen in Vick's memory. She turned out to be Jessica Peck, a lobbyist paid to oppose a program designed to monitor traffic throughout L.A., and possibly all of California. Cameron was of the opinion that said program could become the equivalent of SkyNet's central nervous system.

Sarah asked her son, "So, what did you find out about the security around ARTIE?"

"Mom, you're not gonna be able to sneak in, alright? The data center is in City Hall, and they have armed guards and cameras protecting it 24/7."

Derek added, "That, and the tunnels are out until we can find a way to disarm the bombs."

* * *

_Earlier that day, John and Cameron had been sitting next to each other and hacking Vick's chip again when John found a clip of the Terminator setting explosive charges and various devices in a series of tunnels. After a freeze-frame, the feed changed and showed Vick looking at City Hall before it cut out._

_John was nervous due to the thoroughness of what they had seen. "Cam, did Vick set a trap?"_

_"Yes, an extremely complex one."_

_His hands started to shake as he listed off every implement of Vick's trap. "Damn, this one's smart. C4, cameras, passive infrared beacons, motion sensors, radio receivers, their own power sources, and those other things, whatever they were..."  
_

_Cameron took hold of his hands and he immediately relaxed a little. She replied, "John, those were spectrometers. They were most likely installed so that the computer monitoring these tunnels could determine if Vick, a human, or another Terminator went there."_

_He asked her, "Is there some way he'd be immune to his own trap?"_

_She stated, "I don't know. It's possible that he would have a set of codes he could broadcast to the receivers to order the computer to disarm the explosives. However, it is likely that the codes were erased when he saw he was about to be compromised."_

_He snarked, "Talk about operational security. Can you think of any options?"_

_She shook her head as she answered, "No, unless you can build a localized EMP generator. Even our fusion pistols would do us no good because the energy packets travel too slowly to neutralize the system from long range, and this system is underground."_

_"And if we get too close... boom. What about incendiary ammo?"_

_"That won't work. We'd have to be too close to hit the charges, and the combined heat and pressure may detonate them. Flamethrowers are not an option either because those tunnels need to be intact, and..." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she continued, "I won't let you put yourself in that kind of danger."_

_He drew her closer and muttered, "Yeah, fuel tanks make great targets, especially if they're attached to me."

* * *

_

Sarah opined, "Attempting to take it down politically is out. They'd recognize me and Derek is still wanted for murder."

Cameron added, "Jessica Peck tried that. Vick killed her for it."

* * *

_Cameron looked at the lights emanating from Los Angeles, comparing them to the image she had culled from Vick's chip. Satisfied that she was standing close to where the Terminator had stood, she announced to John, Sarah and Derek, "We're here."_

_They descended a hill, all except Cameron wielding flashlights. Sarah asked her, "You see anything?"_

_Cameron scanned their surroundings, cycling through her various vision modes before stopping at spectrographic analysis. She knew what decaying humans looked like in all her various forms of sight, but the woman had been there long enough that her infrared signature was identical to the ambient temperature. "We're less than 100 meters away; I can detect the decay."_

_John looked around and asked Derek, "__So do we do this a lot in the future, sneak around in the dark?"_

_He searched the area and noncommittally replied, "We do this a lot."_

_The young man saw a dead body crumpled up against a tree, sighed and mused, "I was kinda hoping we wouldn't find her."_

_Derek whistled for Sarah and Cameron to join them. They showed up, and Cameron turned the body over. The Resistance fighter found a wallet, opened it up, shined his light on the ID he found and asked, "Who the Hell's Jessica Peck?"_

_Cameron replied, "A threat to SkyNet."

* * *

_

John put his face in his hands and asked no one in particular, "How in the Hell are we supposed to deal with this?"

Cameron walked over and rubbed the back of his neck, causing John to look up at her and the adults to cringe on the inside. "John, I can help you. My internal wireless networking abilities can allow me to hack into the ARTIE system from the data boxes near the lights."

Sarah asked her, "And, what if there's no wireless equipment in the boxes? What then?"

She turned to the woman and replied, "Then John and I handle it the hard way."

Derek asked, "Hang on - what does the hard way involve?"

Cameron informed them, "The CPU interface, my chip, John's laptop, a wired connection," and pointed at Derek as she snarked, "and you being light-years away from us."

The woman of the house retorted, "Well, Durandal's off to God knows where, so the light-years part is out for now."

The bitter Resistance fighter rolled his eyes and moaned, "Yeah, more's the pity."

John stood up and asked, "Shall we take a walk, Cam? See about finding one of those data boxes?"

Cameron, in a very human moment, smiled and replied, "Sounds like a plan." She turned on her heel and was about to retrieve her shield belt and weapons when Sarah spoke up.

She asked them, "I forgot to bring this up earlier, but how are you going to explain your behavior to anyone who knew you under the last set of IDs?"

Cameron was running possibilities through her chip when John came to the rescue with, "Witness Protection screwed up. You know how stupid feds can be."

Derek muttered, "Yeah, firsthand."

* * *

**08:20**

John and Cameron left the house after retrieving their belts and weapons, along with changing into clothing that allowed for easy concealment. As they walked hand in hand, he asked her, "So, do you think we'll be able to do this without removing your chip?"

She replied, "I don't know. We should buy a static shielding bag in case we need to do so."

John mulled over that for all of two seconds. "Good idea, but shouldn't SkyNet have found a way to make the chips immune to a little electrical shock?"

Cameron informed him, "While it's in my head, my CPU is protected by the 120 second reboot and the shock damping assembly attached to it. Outside of that, the contacts are the most vulnerable to electrostatic discharge."

He sighed and sarcastically noted, "I guess some things never change."

She saw a traffic light with what appeared to be a box full of computer equipment nearby and subtly tugged on John's hand, indicating that he should go with her. He complied, and in three minutes they found themselves in front of the box.

He asked her, "So, has your internal wireless suite found any connections related to ARTIE?"

"Yes, but the security systems have been enhanced to deal with things that most wouldn't think of."

He thought about this, thinking the timing to be convenient, and asked her, "Cam, do you think that Vick did this after he killed Barbara?"

She responded, "Perhaps, but maybe he did it before he killed her. I don't know when these additions were made."

He frowned as he asked, "What kind of additions?"

She deadpanned, "The kind that track down and erase any systems that attempt to access ARTIE without the proper security codes. If I were Vick, I would have deleted those codes if I was about to be compromised."

She saw the split-second look of abject terror on his face before he regained his composure. His voice quaked as he said, "In other words, the kind that will kill you if you try."

Cameron told him, "Yes." She looked straight into his endless green eyes, then she embraced him and whispered, "I don't wanna die, or worse, be brainwashed into killing you. I don't think I could take it."

'Wow, she takes the death of the other me really hard.' He hesitantly asked, "Cam, I doubt that that would happen, but just in case, how would I counteract it?"

'That's right John, think ahead. Just as you should.' Aloud she answered, "Knock me offline, remove my chip, wait 30 seconds, then put it back in."

"Sounds deceptively simple. Anyway, is there any way to hack into this thing that doesn't put you at risk?"

She would have answered him, except that she saw a suit-wearing Cromartie in an older Chevrolet Camaro SS top-down convertible, painted blue with white racing stripes down the center. She not-so-subtly dragged John down a nearby alleyway and hid both of them behind a Dumpster.

"Cam, what the Hell-"

She put a finger to his lips and said, "Cromartie." He promptly shut up.

* * *

**SEARCHING... PRIMARY TARGET NOT FOUND  
CONTINUE SEARCH – USE FBI DATABASE TO LOCATE JOHN CONNOR

* * *

**

Cromartie passed by the alleyway John and Cameron were hiding in with nary a processing cycle prompting him to check for the boy there. John reached for his fusion pistol, but Cameron took hold of his hand and said, "No. We'd draw too much attention to ourselves if we engaged him now."

He knew she was right, but didn't like the fact that they couldn't deal with the Terminator at that moment. 'We had an opportunity, but she made us hide instead of taking it!'

The other side of his brain argued, 'She's right about the attention thing, and neither of us knows just how much the shield belts protect us.' He grumpily responded, "Another day, then. Now, how do we deal with ARTIE?"

Cameron pitched her idea. "We need your laptop and a CAT5 cable. I can control the computer via Wi-Fi." She saw his look of confusion, and clarified, "We can restore your computer's system software later, if need be, but it serves as an intermediary between ARTIE and myself."

He stroked his chin as he mused, "Good idea, but still, all the security measures beyond what the government would use... it's almost like Vick knew we were coming..." He turned to her and asked, "Cam, what's going on?"

She recalled her first encounter with the Terminator. "Vick must have determined what I am when we fought at the apartment Derek's teammates were using."

John added, "Or SkyNet knew someone would try to take it down and programmed him to prevent that from happening. Damn it!"

She stated, in a 'DUH!,' manner, "That's why I suggested we use your computer."

He sighed, thinking, 'She's right, as usual.' What he said was, "OK then, let's go get it."


	6. End of Vick's Chip, and moving on

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**October 31, 2007 09:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

John and Cameron returned to the traffic light with the needed materials and plugged in to ARTIE, after she broke the lock on the door to the box. She made it look like she was typing really quickly, but in reality her Wi-Fi was doing all the work.

After five minutes, she reported, "John, I'm in. It will take approximately 40 seconds to take down the system. I'm also going to retrieve all the information I can about SkyNet-related events and programs that I can find."

'Damn, she really does think of everything.' He put his right arm around her shoulders, gave her a peck on the cheek and said, "You do that, baby."

On his computer screen, he saw many images flashing by, including... 'Is that Derek? He killed Andy Goode?'

Soon, a map of L.A. County showed up, and warning symbols started flashing everywhere. Cameron smiled as she packed up the computer and said, "ARTIE is down."

John saw several car accidents happen in the space of ten seconds, and quipped, "Commence the madness. Makes me glad we walked."

"Me too." As they walked home, arms wrapped around each other, she wrestled with figuring out how John would react if Sarah or Derek tried to scrap her. Finally, she gave up and asked him, "John?"

"Yeah?"

She looked at him and almost whispered, "What would you do if your mother or uncle attempted to terminate me?"

He was shocked, though he didn't let his face show it. 'What a loaded question!' He turned his head and looked into her bottomless chocolate eyes, wondering why that would come up. "I don't know, why do you ask?"

"I'm not afraid of them, but... I am afraid of the pain I would cause you if I forcibly subdued them and they died as a result."

They reached the door. John opened it and they walked in as he responded, "Good thing you asked."

His mother queried, "Good thing she asked what?"

The Future Leader of Mankind didn't miss a beat as he closed the door and replied, "What I'd do if you or Derek tried to kill her... again in his case."

Sarah sighed and explained to him, "John, I can see that you're happy with her. I may not like it, but I won't deny you what happiness you can get."

Derek scoffed at all three of them and told Sarah, "I still say their... 'relationship' is sick, and twisted."

John snidely asked him, "What? You think someone else would be better for me?"

He shouted, "Anyone else, so long as they're not a metal killing machine!"

Sarah put herself between the males of the household and intervened. "Enough! We've gone over this already, Reese! She stays because she protects my son and he's happy with her. Either get used to it or get out."

John added, "And bluntly, I don't care which."

'I'm not just walking away from this. Not before I say my piece.' His face went blank, emotionless, just like a Terminator. Like his enemies. He walked up to Cameron and deadpanned, "If you ever hurt him, I promise that I will personally vaporize you."

Cameron barely thought about that before she responded, "I promise that you'll never have the opportunity."

'Yeah right, that twisted, devious metal bitch thinks that John won't end up hurt by her one way or the other.' He responded, "Make sure of that."

Derek was about to stalk off to his room when Cameron dropped a bombshell. "You killed Andy Goode. The security system of the hotel caught you on videotape. I extracted that information from the ARTIE system before I crashed it."

John threw in his two cents. "She's got you there, Derek. I saw it on the screen."

Sarah trusted her son, even though she couldn't really trust anyone else, and trusted that he wouldn't lie to her about that. She was gratified to have her suspicions confirmed, though she wasn't particularly happy about that, nor the fact that he lied to her about it. She kept a straight face as she asked him, "So, why'd you do it?"

Derek knew he had been caught, but he still had a card up his sleeve. "That maggot-dick motherfucker would have built SkyNet, that's why."

His nephew continued with the questioning. "And you know this, how?"

He decided to tell them. "One Andrew Goode, living under the alias William Wisher, confessed it to me himself, and later nodded his consent before I jumped back. He knew what I was gonna do, and didn't even try to stop me."

John let loose with, "You're broken, Derek Reese. You act just like your enemy, you think just like your enemy, the only difference is that your body is far more fragile than any Terminator." He got up in Derek's face and spoke through gritted teeth, "You're no better than SkyNet."

'To Hell with this shit.' Derek made his decision. "Fuck you, punk. I'm leaving, and you can't change my mind so don't even try."

Sarah started, "Derek-"

"Get out of my way."

Unfettered, she explained, "I was going to give you the number for my cell phone, in case you needed backup or something, but I guess you don't want help."

He turned to Sarah and retorted, "I'm not turning down your help. I'm refusing to live with that thing."

John knew the situation was getting out of hand so he ordered, "You're staying here, Reese. Learn to live with Cameron. It's my way. There is no highway option."

Derek had made up his mind, and listening to that kid wasn't on his agenda. "You're not John Connor yet. In this time, there's always the highway. I already told you, I'm leaving."

Cameron commented, "I don't need to scan your facial structures or DNA to determine that you're related; you're both strong-willed."

John smiled while Derek shook his head.

* * *

**10:30**

Cameron watched Derek leave on his motorcycle until he disappeared from view. 'Good riddance. I may just have some time alone with John now.'

John, while relieved that the constant fighting over Cameron's loyalty was over, was still bummed about his uncle just deciding to up and leave.

She sat next to John on the love seat as Sarah came in and told them, "He has our cell numbers, and the code for us to verify our identities on the phone is for the caller to press one and three, and the receiver to press eight, four, and five."

John shook his head to clear it and said, "So ARTIE's been dealt with, next up is the Turk. How are we going to find that?"

His mother jumped in with, "Andy had a partner, Dimitri Shipkov. Get on the computer and find out what you can about him."

He knew that he was going to need his computer skills, but he didn't know if his laptop was usable. He started up the stairs as he said, "Now to go see if it still works after this morning."

Cameron tentatively asked, "John, may I join you?"

He stopped on the stairs and came back down as he was confused. "Of course, but why do you suddenly feel the need to ask?"

She put her reasoning on the line and elaborated, "I thought you were upset with me over Derek leaving."

John knew better than to lie to Cameron, given that she wouldn't trust him afterward, not to mention the fact that she could tell when he was lying. "A little bit, but I'm more upset with him for refusing to accept you at all."

She tried to comfort him with, "I understand. I heard many fighters complain about the necessity of using reprogrammed Terminators to fight SkyNet."

He wanted her opinion on the matter. "What about you? What did you think?"

She factually stated, "It was war. You did what you had to."

He felt he needed to know the extent of his 'hardass general' persona, as he had come to think of it. "And what exactly did I have to do?"

She took the plunge. "In the worst case, I only ever saw you execute two people for disobeying orders."

That scared Sarah. 'John would kill someone because they didn't obey him?' She asked Cameron, "How severely did the offenders screw up?"

She explained, "Not only did they disobey him, they were Grays – humans that voluntarily worked for SkyNet due to derangement, cowardice, or brainwashing. In this case, the two men were double agents for SkyNet."

John was still processing the information, but he was aware that he snarked, "No wonder I shot them."

Cameron didn't want to upset him further, so she asked, "John, we should focus on here and now. May I join you?"

"Sure." He headed up to his room, while Cameron followed. When he got there, he plugged in his laptop to recharge the battery and pressed the power button.

It booted up to Windows Vista, but immediately went haywire as lines of code flashed across the screen.

His shoulders slumped and he groaned, "Aw crap, it looks like ARTIE did a number on the OS when we took it down. Now where'd I put the... oh."

Cameron had found the restore disc for the system and handed it to him. "It was under the pile of manuals."

He inserted the DVD into the drive and rebooted the PC. After starting the reformatting process, he kissed her and said, "Thanks, Cam. In spite of what others would say, I think you showing up was the best thing that ever happened for me."

She smiled at him and pulled his chair back. He had a confused look on his face, until she sat on his lap with her torso to his right. He couldn't help the fact that he was instantly hard, and she noticed. They embraced and found each other's lips rather easily.

As they poured their love and passion for one another into their every move, Cameron knew that she had to hold back for the time being, lest John got the wrong idea, and Sarah decided to destroy her and castrate him. 'I guess I can give him a little preview without causing too much trouble.' She ground her hips against his, eliciting a low groan from John. He pulled her closer and his tongue shot into her mouth, causing her to respond in kind. His hands had taken to roaming her back, and he was sorely tempted to reach under her shirt.

John's computer beeped, and he reluctantly disengaged from Cameron. She remained on his lap and quietly told him, "I love you, John."

He responded, "I love you too, Cam." He chuckled, then asked her, "So, you like teasing me?"

She grinned as she said, "A little. I'm proud of you for not immediately trying to seduce me when we met..."

He idly hit the key to reinstall Windows as she leaned in closer and whispered, "...but I'm very tempted to take you to bed anyway."

His mind was running in a million different directions as he shakily reminded her, "As I recall, you were the one that said we should wait."

She pulled herself closer to him, enough so that her breasts were practically in his face, and she sounded very enticing as she responded, "I remember. I also want to show you just how much I love you, John."

John managed to keep his hands away from her chest and on her back as he opined, "It sounds to me like you're torn between the two extremes."

"Yes."

He thought for a few seconds, then he said, "Well, my birthday is in a couple weeks, on the 14th of November."

'I only ever saw him celebrate his birthday once. However, he was busy fighting a war...' When she spoke, she informed him, "I'm familiar with the custom of gift-giving on one's birthday, and at Christmas." He could see the flood of emotion in her eyes as she asked him, "Is there anything you'd like for either occasion?"

He grinned mischievously and said, "For starters, time alone with you." He saw the look in her eyes that indicated the battle between her desire to bed him, and the need to be sure of their standing in their relationship first. He clarified, "I'm not saying we go all the way, but-"

She put her finger on his lips and whispered, "Don't worry about it. I'll think of something."

He stroked her cheek, prompting her to shudder with excitement. He asked, "What about you? When did your life begin?"

"I was activated on April 6th, 2027. I met you in the future on July 13th.. The war ended on December 21st. I temporally displaced myself from December 22nd, 2027 to June 29th, 1999. According to our IDs, I'll be 17 on April 6th, 2008."

"Is there anything you want for Christmas? Your birthday?"

"John, Cameron, food's ready-" Sarah opened the door to her son's room and saw Cameron sitting on his lap, with his face damn near buried in her chest.

They both saw his mother, and he muttered, "Damn. Back to Earth, I guess." Cameron rose from her position while he stood up.

Sarah wanted to scream about how wrong she thought it was, but she was determined to let her son be happy while he could. Instead she asked, "How, exactly, did you not crush his legs? Shouldn't you weigh about 250-300 pounds?"

She looked proud as she explained, "No. As I told John yesterday, SkyNet made advances in materials science and manufacturing. When I'm nude, my mass is 65 kilograms."

The older woman ignored the images that statement conjured, did the math in her head and answered, "About 143 pounds. A little heavy for a girl your size, but not massively so." She asked him, "So, how's the computer?"

He furrowed his eyebrows briefly and reported, "Well, ARTIE left it a mess. I've had to erase the hard drive and reinstall the operating system."

She looked at the screen and noticed that an installation program was running. "It doesn't look finished to me. I take it you were... distracted?"

He smirked as he responded, "Yeah. I wouldn't change a damn thing, though."

"Well, I made sandwiches if you're hungry."

John's stomach rumbled. "Thanks mom."

She looked over at Cameron and said, "I made three. Was that too many?"

The cyborg shook her head and replied, "No. I may not have to eat as much, but I still need to maintain my nutrient reserves." She saw the befuddled looks on their faces and elaborated, "Stored nutrients aid in regenerating my organic components. I can use my power cell, but it is less efficient."

John took Cameron's hand and said, "C'mon, let's eat. I'm friggin' hungry."


	7. Rules & Murphy

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: I know it's short, but I feel that some acceleration of the timeline is in order after this chapter. John's computer came with Vista. The first part of this chapter was inspired by a PM from Augustus Paladin Maximus.

**October 31, 2007 12:02 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

After John, Sarah, and Cameron had all eaten, the elder woman stated, "You already know my opinion on your relationship, but we still need some ground rules. I don't think any of us wants me to walk in on the two of you when you're busy."

Cameron scooted next to John, wrapped her arm around him and pointed out, "Sarah, I take my self-appointed mission of protecting John very seriously. I can't get pregnant, and he won't become a sexual deviant."

* * *

_"John hasn't been fucking Cameron, has he?"_

_"Not yet, but I can see it in the pipeline. It may take a while, but I think they'll end up in bed before too long."_

_Sarah was feeling a mixture of revulsion and understanding. "Well, given how he feels about her, I can understand, but... how could he screw the goddamn robot?! That's just WRONG!"_

_"She was built as an infiltrator. She has to have enough parts to pass, you know. Oh, and just because you don't see her as a person, actual and whole, doesn't mean he shares the attitude."

* * *

_

Sarah felt she had to point out the obvious. "But he already is a deviant, given your construction!"

John came to his girlfriend's defense with, "Mom, Cameron may have been built instead of born, but she's a person, and I love her!"

His mother held up her hand and said in an exasperated tone, "John, I get it. Please, put yourself in my shoes for a minute. Is a little self-restraint too much to ask?"

The cyborg attempted to be the voice of reason. "Would it be acceptable if John and I only show our affection in a casual manner around others?"

After a moment, Sarah relented, "Oh, all right."

John added, "But once we're alone, mom, it's up to Cam and I to decide just what we want to do." He turned to Cameron and explained, "I mean, it's our right to express how much we love one another."

The elder Connor was determined to speak her piece. "Well, make sure there's no security problems, keep the volume down, and don't overdo it. If she tells you not to try something, you'd better listen."

Cameron said, "Thank you, Sarah."

Sarah turned to her son and recounted, "I've been in love before, you know. I was also your age once, and, well... let's just say it was a more liberal time." She turned serious again and told her son and the cyborg, "If you feel that you need some time alone, tell me and hang a sign on the doorknob or something."

John gave a small smile and quipped, "Sounds like a deal, mom."

* * *

_Sarah snorted, then decided to take the plunge and ask Durandal, "Can she get pregnant? I mean, she's already displayed the fact that she's not like other Terminators, but, well..."_

_"If Cameron were to have the appropriate parts grown and implanted into her, then she could get pregnant and give birth to a fully human child. As of right now, though, she is effectively sterile."

* * *

_

Sarah knew it was going to come up, so she decided to mention to both of them, "Oh, and I already knew about her lacking... certain internal lady parts. I asked Durandal about that."

John had no comment, what with being shocked that his mother would ask Durandal about that sort of thing. 'Sounds like her, making sure I don't go around leaving a trail of illegitimate children... well, in this timeline, anyway.'

Cameron made eye contact with John, grinned and told him, "Don't worry about it."

'Now that THAT'S taken care of, time to get back to work.' Sarah fell into an authoritative tone as she said, "Anyway, if you aren't too terribly busy, Dimitri Shipkov might know where the Turk is. We need to know where he is."

Her son grunted and retorted, "Alright, mom, I think we get the hint." He took Cameron's hand, stood up and sarcastically said, "I guess it's back to work for us."

She asked, "What will you be doing, Sarah?"

"I'll be reading the files you two took from Vick's old house. There may yet be something useful in there."

* * *

**12:31**

The Future Leader of Mankind and his cyborg protector/girlfriend went upstairs to his room. When they arrived, he asked her, "What would you like for Christmas?"

She decided on her answer in three microseconds. "Time alone with you."

He knew that she wouldn't have said that without a reason. "You have some kind of plan, don't you?"

'I wish I could show you, John. I wish we didn't need to wait.' Aloud she responded, "You'll see."

"OK. How about your birthday?"

She stated, "I haven't made a decision yet, but I'll inform you within one month of that date."

* * *

**13:17**

John was disappointed with the results of the computer search he had just finished. He and Cameron descended the stairs, went into the dining room and he sullenly informed her, "Mom, Dimitri's dead."

Sarah snapped her head to look at her son in disbelief. "What?"

Cameron reported, "He and his sister Maria were murdered in the motel room he was staying in. Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest on both victims. The authorities believe that the Russian mafia was involved."

'Fucking idiots! You're condemning us all to be killed by the machines!' Sarah felt more than a little upset with humanity for being so obsessed with greed that they would unknowingly destroy the world. "And there went our best lead to the Turk. Damn it!"

John quipped, "Well, you know Murphy. He always loves to make our lives Hell."

Cameron asked, "Who is this Murphy? Do I need to kill him?"

'Oh crap, she thinks that someone named Murphy is after us.' John asked, "Cam, have you ever heard of Murphy's Law?"

'Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.' She responded, "Yes, but what did you mean by your earlier statement?"

John sighed and explained, "I meant that things aren't often easy in our lives. We'll just have to cast a wider net to find the Turk."


	8. The Consequences of Overconfidence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: In this case, italics are the other end of a phone conversation.

**November 2, 2007 09:00 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

Cameron was growing impatient. There had been no leads on the Turk for the last three days, John and Sarah both were getting antsy, but at least Derek hadn't been around to constantly deride her for starting out life as a killing machine. 'It's not like I can change my origins, any more than he can change his. The only thing any of us can do is to change this timeline, and not the ones we came from.'

She had been watching the news looking for additional threats when she saw a clip of a movie playing. One of the male characters said, "Beast wizard, the kingdom of fuel will never be yours!"

Then she was shocked as a visual duplicate of Cromartie appeared and retorted, "Now now, Seth. That's no way to treat your brother!"

The announcer appeared on the screen and droned,"Beast Wizard 7. The low budget film nobody saw, when it was released direct-to-video two years ago, has earned $6 million and new found star status. When it's star, George Laszlo, was inexplicably replaced, and the impostor killed 20 members of an FBI hostage rescue team in a shootout at his Reseda apartment two days ago. The actor died before the massacre took place. According to the FBI, the man impersonating him is at large, armed, and I quote, 'Insanely Dangerous.' The sole survivor, Agent James Ellison, has said that anyone who sees him should contact the FBI immediately."

She had the information in her memory banks, so she went upstairs to John's room and walked in.

John was so engrossed in trying to find a lead on the Turk that he didn't hear Cameron come in, even though she deliberately made noise when she moved in his room. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was about to jump out of his skin when he realized that his mother didn't hug him like that, and a female T-888 would have killed him already. Given the strong, yet gentle arms around him, he knew that Cameron was the one behind him.

He looked at her beautiful face and asked her, "Hey Cam, what's up?"

She considered for a moment, then answered, "The sky, your alertness, Cromartie's profile..."

He was about to comment on her joke when his mind processed what she said about Cromartie. "Wait, what about Cromartie?"

Sarah had the timing to walk in at just that moment and ask, "Cromartie showed up somewhere?"

'Good, I only have to say this once.' She explained, "He killed 20 members of an FBI Hostage Rescue Team two days ago. Only Agent James Ellison survived."

The elder woman had to ask, "Why leave him alive?"

"He was investigating your case in 1999. It is most likely that he knows we're alive, here and now." Her eyes lit up for a moment, then the news clip she had watch earlier started to play.

After it was over, John was puzzled. "I thought he would say that Laszlo had done it. Why didn't he... wait..." He got onto his computer and looked up a name.

The cyborg was curious about his actions. "What are you doing?"

He saw something he would rather not have seen, but knew it would answer questions. "Wondering if... Yup, Charley saw the aftermath."

Sarah asked in disbelief, "Charley Dixon?"

As he read the news story about Michelle Dixon, he elaborated, "Yeah, his wife was killed four days ago. Her... her head was literally ripped off... Cam, are triple-eights strong enough to do that?"

"Yes, however it would be easier if the triple-eight had no organic components around its thighs. There are blades there for the purpose of decapitating someone."

John's mother sarcastically snorted, "Goody. Just what we all needed." She turned serious as she asked, "Any progress on that phaser, Tin Miss?"

"If I continue to work on it when you're asleep, I will need approximately two more nights to construct a working prototype."

John wanted to do something, but he wasn't sure if he could. He asked her, "You sure you don't want any help, Cam?"

She shook her head. "No, but thank you for offering. I may not need to sleep, but you do."

John stroked his chin for a minute, then he spoke up. "Mom, we have to find Charley. He might be able to help us."

Sarah saw all sides of that idea, but neglected to mention the emotional side of things. "A medic couldn't hurt, but he's probably helping the FBI, John."

Cameron waited all of two milliseconds to respond, "With Agent Ellison's assistance, he may be able to clear our names."

John piped up with, "Maybe, but we'd still be targets."

The younger woman seemed to be wrestling with something, but she made her decision and said, "We should find them anyway. In my former timeline, Charley Dixon was in command of the Medical Corps. However, I have no record of James Ellison past Judgment Day."

Mother and son were both surprised, but he recovered first and said, "I know where Charley lives, he'll be easier to find."

Sarah quipped, "So that's where you went while Cameron and I were running around for our first set of IDs in this time."

He responded, "After I went to a mall closer to our old place, and checked out the computer store."

Cameron asked, "Where does Charley live?"

John rattled off, "8223 Paper Street in Sherman Oaks."

The elder Connor said, "We should go now. Get your gear, Cromartie may already be out to kill him."

* * *

**10:00 PST**

Sarah took her own Harley while Cameron drove John on their bike to Charley Dixon's house. They parked across the street and walked up to his door, with John in front of the trio. He asked the two women, "You sure about this?"

Cameron replied, "Yes. His skill as a medic and the fact that he taught many others to treat battlefield wounds allowed many people to live to fight another day."

Sarah settled the issue with, "All right then. Let's do this."

John knocked on the door. He heard someone in the house, and Cameron's hand went to rest unobtrusively on her fusion pistol. The door opened and Charley's jaw dropped. 'John? Sarah? Who's the girl?'

Sarah broke the ice by saying, "I heard about your wife. I'm sorry things had to turn out the way they did."

Thankfully, Charley had the presence of mind to tell them, "We should probably take this inside." He stood aside so they could enter, and the Connors themselves did. Cameron scanned the area to make sure it was free of Terminators and law enforcement, then she went in. Charley cast a final glance around the street, then closed the door behind him.

His three house guests were still standing when he entered the living room, but he had a burning question he couldn't let go unasked. He asked Cameron, "I know what you are. Why did you come back?"

Cameron wistfully answered, "To be with John."

Sarah saw the look of confusion on his face, sighed and said, "Charley, it's a very long story. You might wanna sit down for this one."

* * *

**12:47 PST**

"...So, let me get this straight: Cameron is a sentient, feeling machine that willingly defected to John in the future, but he died later, so she time-traveled back to 1999 to find him again, then all three of you jumped forward, resulting in you showing up buck naked in the middle of a highway in September?"

Sarah replied, "That's the gist of it, aside from whatever Ellison told you years ago."

John added, "The machine that killed your wife and those FBI guys is the same one that tried to kill me in 1999. Back then, it had a different face and called itself Cromartie."

Charley's memory suddenly supplied him with a tidbit they needed to know. "Wait, I heard about that. The news back then said that some shooter with a robot leg posed as a substitute teacher and tried to kill John in Red Valley."

John wasn't all that surprised, but he had to be sure. He asked, "They mentioned me, specifically?"

Charley chuckled as he recounted, "Yeah, by your real name." In a far more serious tone he asked, "What can I do?"

Sarah had to ask, "What?"

He clarified, "What can I do to prevent... all this?"

Before his mother could tell the man to run nonstop, John spoke up. "Medic." She gave him a look that said, 'What in the bloody Hell are you thinking?!' He elaborated, "What with the fights we get in, a medic wouldn't hurt."

Cameron added, "I remember you being in command of the Medical Corps. Your ability as a field medic and your ability to teach others results in many living to fight another day."

'So I'm the head medic in the Resistance, and I train others to save tons of lives so we can beat SkyNet? Who am I to say no?' He made his choice and told them, "A little time at the range and I'll be back on form."

Cameron tilted her head in that way that John found both adorable and occasionally frustrating. The young man explained to her, "Cam, he was an active duty Marine for six years before we met."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining."

Just then, Sarah's phone rang. The screen said it was Derek. She hit the button to answer, then she entered her end of the code. He input his end, and she asked, "What's going on, Derek?"

_"Well, put the speaker on because I have good news, bad news, and worse news. Which one do you want first?"_

She found the button and replied, "OK, What's the good news?"

"_We have reinforcements. This woman I know, Jesse, she arrived yesterday. Hell of a fighter, kept up with me on scrapping the tin cans."_

She thought to herself, 'Another body to put between SkyNet and John. Can't hurt.'

John asked, "Well, what's the bad news?"

_"SkyNet sent back an I-950, neither of us knows why. I'll explain what they are when I get to the house."_

Sarah asked Charley, "You still ride?"

He replied, "Yeah, when I can."

She said, "Get suited up, we're headed to our new place." Then she asked Derek, "And the worse news?"

_"James Ellison recognized me a few hours ago. So far I've evaded him, but the FBI are probably looking for us now."_

She angrily ordered him, "If you've got a tail, make damn sure you lose it, Reese!"

Charley tried to calm her down with, "Sarah, eh, hang on." He grabbed the phone and explained, "Derek, James knows about the machines. One of them killed 20 of his comrades the other day."

_"You must be Charley. Do you know which one killed them?"_

Cameron jumped in with, "Derek, it was Cromartie. The media and the authorities explained it as an impostor of George Laszlo, the man Cromartie was altered to impersonate."

_"'Sigh.' Figures. Anyway, the heat just got turned up on us."_

John decided to cut any arguments short, given their not-so-secure locations. He told his uncle, "Shake any tails, then meet us at the house. We'll be a lot safer there. Oh, and we're bringing Charley."

_"Right, bye."_ Derek hung up.

Sarah's tendencies toward being the alpha female took over and she started giving orders. "Charley, hop on your bike and follow me. We're taking the scenic route. John, you and Cameron make a beeline for our place."

Cameron said, "We'll call you if our plans change." She and John walked out the door and took off.

Now that John was in the very capable hands of his metal girlfriend/guardian, Charley said, "Eight years. That's how long I've been in L.A. Eight years since my fiancée ran out on me. Eight years since the FBI informed me that she was a homicidal paranoid schizophrenic with an acute dislike for anything mechanical. For what it's worth, I didn't believe them. Then you blew yourself up, but actually time-jumped."

She said nothing, so he continued, "It was all over the news. Three days later, I packed a bag, hop on the bike, drove to L.A., straight through. I had to know. I had to see it with my own eyes."

She could see the emotion flickering across his face as he recounted what he saw. He kept going, "But then I got here, and there was nothing there. Just a hole in the ground where the bank used to be. I couldn't go home. How could I?"

Sarah's own feelings came bubbling to the surface as she explained, "I didn't want to leave you. I didn't have a choice. As long as John and I were around, you were in danger."

He retorted, "Hey, I'm a Marine. I can handle myself real well in a firefight-"

Sarah interrupted, "With humans, yes, but not machines. They're faster, stronger, better shots, able to fight almost immediately after coming off the assembly line..."

Charley took it all in, then responded, "I guess I have a lot to learn."

"Yeah." Sarah shook her head, then said, "Let's get going."

* * *

John asked Cameron, "So, do you remember that woman Derek says jumped back, Jesse?"

She answered, "I don't know. She didn't speak and I have no visual identification of her."

Seeing as the direct line of questioning didn't work, he took another angle with, "Do you remember him spending time with someone named Jesse?"

"Yes. She was from Australia, and survived Judgment Day there."

"I thought there was no overseas travel in the future. How do you think she got here after the bombs fell?"

"The U.S.S. Jimmy Carter was docked in Perth, Australia when the local Resistance captured SkyNet's base there in 2027."

John and Cameron were on their way to where they'd parked their bike when she spotted a blue Camaro with white racing stripes headed down the street in their general direction. She analyzed the driver, then warned, "John, Cromartie's back!"

His adrenalin surged, knowing full well what the machine's mission was. "Has he seen us?"

* * *

**SCANNING...**

**PRIMARY TARGET LOCATED: JOHN CONNOR**

**RENEGADE UNIT CAMERON PHILLIPS PRESENT**

**WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURES DETECTED. SIGNATURES CONSISTENT WITH WEAPON USED TO DISABLE UNIT AT FORMER CONNOR RESIDENCE.**

**ACTION: EVADE**

**OBTAIN LONG-RANGE WEAPONS**

**SEEK REINFORCEMENTS

* * *

**

Cameron saw Cromartie staring at them and replied, "Yes."

"Fucking god damnit!" He checked to ensure that his shield belt was activated and his fusion gun had a full battery, then mused, "Time to field test all this gear Durandal gave us."

Neither of them expected Cromartie to pull a 180-degree turn and gun the engine. John was confused. "He's running?"

She ran the rest of the way to the bike and got on. She started it as she explained, "He may have detected the energy signatures of our fusion guns. Dave Mustaine and I used them to disable Carter and Cromartie right before the old house blew up."

In what was probably John's ballsiest move to date, he said, "We need to take him down now, while we have the chance!"

She knew what he was suggesting, and was conflicted. While her number one priority was John's safety, his well-being was not far behind, and she knew that he needed to become a strong, tough man to be able to lead in the future. In the end, she simply stated, "I'm driving. Even if my shield belt fails, my endoskeleton is more resistant to bullets than yours."

He knew every word of what she had just said was true, but he got on, wrapped his arms around her waist and quipped, "I think you just like it when I hold you."

They took off after the machine sent to kill the young man she loved, turned to look at him, smiled, and answered, "I do." Then she turned her attention back to driving less than a second later.

Thanks to their dallying, Cromartie had 30 seconds of lead time on John and Cameron. While they closed the gap, John pulled his cell phone. He called his mother, and after they coded one another he explained to her, "Mom, Cromartie found us, but he turned tail and ran! Cam and I are chasing him now, she says he ran because of the fusion guns!"

_"John, what the fuck are you thinking?! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"_

"She's driving, we have our gear, and if we get Cromartie now he can't alert other Terminators about where and when we are!" He told her which way they were going.

_"Damnit John! Charley, get your bag! You drive, I'll shoot! John and Cameron are chasing Cromartie!"_

John knew a call to action when he heard one, and warned them, "Mom, we don't have a belt for him!"

_"He can use mine until this is over. I think we have extras."_ Sarah then hung up.

While John had been informing his mother of the situation, Cameron had caught up to John's would-be assassin and nudged him to get his attention. He thought to himself, 'Good thing my phone was stowed already!'

John got out his fusion gun, and using his left arm to hold onto Cameron he fired two shots at Cromartie's car, hoping that it would disable the vehicle. The first packet hit the Camaro and fried the electrical systems, given that they were unshielded. The second one missed and hit an office building, dispersing on the windows. The Camaro skidded to a halt and the murderous robot got out, grabbing the two full-size Uzi submachine guns.

Cromartie emptied both magazines at John, but the bullets hit the shields and stopped in midair, then fell to the ground. He took cover behind his now-ruined vehicle as Cameron stopped their bike while John kept firing. The killing machine had taken cover far enough from the vehicle that it could not conduct the electricity into it's endoskeleton. It reloaded it's weapons, then popped up and delivered another hail of bullets into John's shields.

John's battery died and he was swapping it out when Charley and Sarah arrived. She started firing at the machine sent to kill her son while Charley distracted it with her Glock 19. Cameron was attempting to flank Cromartie when she saw the robot firing at her charge yet again. This time, John's shields finally collapsed from the sheer number of impacts, despite the fact that they were auto-recharging.

John felt pain flare through him as the one bullet that made it through after his shields collapsed punched through his torso, causing him to fall to the ground.

Cameron saw her love take the hit and screamed, "JOHN!" Charley immediately rushed to his side and started administering first aid while Sarah kept firing. In a fit of rage, she emptied her battery into Cromartie, knocking him offline. She ran over and started smashing his head with her booted foot, crushing his CPU and the rest of his endoskull, then proceeded to carjack an unlucky teenage male who happened to be driving a black crew cab Dodge Ram.

She dumped Cromartie in the back, then more gently put their bikes in there as well before shutting the tailgate. Then the anger faded and was replaced by fear for John's life as she rushed to him. Charley filled her in, "Bullet went right through the gut, missed the bones-"

John tried to speak, but whatever he was going to say came out as little more than grunts of pain. Sarah asked, "Is he OK to move? We've gotta get out of here before the cops show up!"

Cameron saw that while Charley had done an admirable job given the circumstances, he was still bleeding. She immediately tore off her shirt and ripped it into strips, leaving only her bra to preserve her modesty. She didn't care, only concerned with John's survival. She made the strips of fabric into makeshift bandages and put them on both sides of the wound, applying enough pressure to slow his blood loss while not crushing him. After taping the bandages to John and giving him a shot of morphine, Charley said, "We can move him, but be damned careful!"

With a gentleness that was unbecoming one of her construction, Cameron lifted John while Sarah opened the back door. Charley packed up while the cyborg put the young man into the back seat, then climbed in on the driver's side. His mother took the driver's seat while her former fiancée took up a position on the other side of John, ready to render medical assistance at no notice whatsoever.

Sarah was gone, driving so fast that Cameron and Charley both had to yell at her to slow down lest they make John's condition worse. She got her phone out and called Derek.

After the code, Derek asked, _"Sarah, what's going on? Jesse and I are at the house already-"_

"Stay there and clear the table, John's been injured!"

_"Fuck! How long till you get here!?"_

"Not long at this speed. We're in a black Dodge Ram, Charley is with us. Our bikes and Cromartie's body are in the bed of the truck. Make sure the door's open when you see us pull up!"

_"You got it, Sarah!"_

She hung up, then focused on the road. John was clinging to Cameron as best he could, but his wound had taken its toll on his strength. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know-"

She was stroking his hair and trying to comfort him. "Shhh, it's gonna be OK, John. Charley and I are here, we'll deal with everything else later."

He figured he would survive, but needed to tell her anyway, "I love you, Cam!"

She pulled him close and replied, "I love you too, John. We're not far from home, Derek and Jesse are waiting for us there."

Charley could hardly believe what he was hearing: Cameron, a machine, originally built to crush the life out of the young man she was now cradling in her arms, telling John that she loved him. He could understand John's side of things, but even though his mind told him it was impossible, insane even, his gut told him that Cameron meant every word she spoke on the subject.

Out of the blue, John asked, "Cameron, how do you fit those wings in here? And how is the halo so bright?"

Charley had a priceless look of confusion on his face as he asked, "What's he talking about?"

Cameron cross-referenced the wings and halo and found a match in her database: "He thinks I'm an angel."

John held onto her possessively and whispered, "My angel."

Sarah explained, "John's prone to being rather silly when he's on painkillers."

Cameron decided to play along and joked, "My hyperalloy wings are highly compressible, and the ring of halogen lights has a built-in power cell and magnetic repulsion unit. You forgot the jet pack, though."

The elder Connor butted in with, "We're here, and the door's open. Get him inside, now!"

Derek ran out the front door, and when he saw Cameron carrying his nephew inside, he thought to himself, 'Motherfucking metal bitch! She probably shot him and made it look like Cromartie!' He pushed that train of thought aside as he got everything ready to treat John. He saw Charley and said, "You patched him up?"

"Got him stabilized enough to bring him here." He saw Derek's bar code and, remembering what they had explained to him, asked, "Did I train you in the future?"

Not missing a beat, Derek answered, "You trained everybody, even Jesse and I. Connor thought it would be best if we all knew how to patch up our buddies."

'Men, gotta keep 'em on track.' Jesse opened a medical kit she had retrieved from a cabinet on the ground floor and said, "Time for introductions later, boys. John's a mess!"

* * *

**14:52**

After a lengthy battle, John was fully stabilized and had had a transfusion from Derek, both of whom were AB-. The adult humans were in the living room while Cameron stood there holding John's hand, relieved that he had survived thus far and continuously scanning him in case his condition changed. Sarah stepped into the dining room and asked her, "How is he?"

She answered, "His vital signs are stable, but he will need at least several days of bed rest in order to fully recover, maybe longer."

'He'll be laid up a little while, sounds about right.' The woman ordered, "Well, we all need to talk in the living room, right now."

Cameron's voice was barely above a whisper as she replied, "I need to stay here and watch over John."

"You can hear him from there and be at his side in a matter of seconds. Besides, I don't think he's going anywhere."

Cameron didn't want to leave John, but she knew that Sarah wouldn't give up either. She leaned over John, planted a kiss on his brow and said, "I'll be back soon, baby."

Sarah could understand John giving her pet names, but for her to do the same left her a tad unnerved. They went into the living room and made all the necessary introductions. Then Sarah questioned Jesse, "Why did you come back?"

The newest Resistance fighter sent back to assist them replied, "To help you deal with the I-950 sent by SkyNet."

Charley asked, "What's an I-950?"

Derek explained, "The idea is that they start out as human babies grown by genetic material harvested by SkyNet, then they have neural net processors attached to their brains. I don't know what kind of training they have, but there's growth acceleration and cybernetic enhancement involved, and dogs can't sniff them out. SkyNet came up with those to be true infiltrators, to destroy us from the inside out."

Cameron added, "They are Intelligence units. Terminators in the field defer to them whenever they are outside of SkyNet supervision."

Sarah inquired, "Do you know what this one looks like?"

Jesse shrugged and replied, "All I heard was 'teenage girl.'"

Derek mused, "Well, that narrows it down, anyway. Where do we start looking for her?"

Jesse remarked, "I don't know. I-950's are slippery, at best."

Charley had to ask, "And at worst?"

Derek replied, "At that point, put a machine on it. They're the only ones persistent enough to catch the Infiltrators when they don't want to be found."

Cameron pointed out, "Even with SkyNet's enhancements, they're still fundamentally human. They have to sleep eventually."

John woke up and quietly groaned at the pain, even though the morphine dulled it. As Cameron came into his view and took his hand, he smiled and snarked, "Who knew there was such a thing as pain relief that works?"

That brought the others into the room. Sarah had been expecting to see John and Cameron holding hands, Charley cocked his eyebrow but said nothing, Derek mimed shoving a finger down his throat and puking, and Jesse put her face in her hands and muttered not quite under her breath, "I'm already too late."

To everyone's surprise, John asked her, "Too late for what?"

Jesse wanted to scream at him for his relationship with Cameron, for eventually giving her the ability to have human children thanks to the fact that Allison Young was found merely half an hour after she had been killed by, as the John Connor she remembered calling it, 'Cameron 2.' She couldn't believe that he would marry another future's copy of the metal bitch that stole her face. However, she couldn't say anything yet for fear that he might move to attack, and thus reopen his wound, so without missing a beat she merely said, "I was too late to prevent you from getting shot."

"Not much to be done about that. Besides, if I was to ask either you, Derek, or Cameron, the John Connor of any of your respective timelines has probably taken far worse, and done it in stride."

The time-travelers in question simultaneously answered, "Yes."

John asked the most recent soldier to break the space-time barrier, "So, Jesse, was I still alive when you jumped back?"

Jesse was mildly shocked. "Yeah, you were still sucking air. Why would you even ask that?"

It saddened Cameron to recall the other John's death, but it needed to be explained. "In the future I came from, he was killed by the last T-1000 in the final moments of the war."

Derek added, "Oddly enough, the same thing happened in my future, past – whatever, but there were other differences."

Cameron knew John was stable, but for everyone else's sake she asked Charley, "Is it safe to move him? His bed would be more comfortable than the table."

'That's Cam alright, always putting me first. God, I love her!' He silently swore to himself to make it up to her once he was moving under his own power again. However, a bullet wound did little to make that idea seem practical anytime soon.

Charley gave his consent. "Yeah, he'll be OK, but be gentle with him."

Cameron nodded, then picked John up and carried him to his bedroom. Sarah followed and pulled his linens back while the cyborg laid the Future Savior of Mankind down on his own bed. Once John was situated, his mother pulled the covers over him. She looked to Cameron, who said, "I'll take care of you, John."

He squeezed her and and replied, "Thank you, Cam. Once I'm up and going again, I promise I'll make it up to you."

Cameron was about to say something, but Derek, Jesse and Charley all walked into the room. They explained to John what they had hashed out earlier about the I-950, and they explained Durandal and Dave Mustaine to Jesse and Charley. When they were done, he asked no one in particular, "That's that, but why did my shield belt fail?"

Derek inquired, "Isn't it supposed to be some kind of bubble or something?"

Cameron accessed the computer built into the house and downloaded all the files about the shield belts. She filed away the extremely technical information only she and few others would understand, and told everyone else, "The default setting only stops incoming attacks at the specific times and places the sensors detect them."

Sarah asked, "A point-defense system? Why?"

Cameron launched into her explanation. "A bubble requires more energy to keep functioning constantly. These belts would only last 30 seconds of constant use on the bubble setting before the capacitors ran out. The power cells recharge the shields, but the necessary discharge rate for the shields to function eliminates the possibility of only using the batteries."

John chuckled and elaborated, "Sounds like something out of a video game."

She added, "The suit Dave originally used had to recharge from fixed power stations or single-use canisters."

John quipped, "Note to self: Get body armor for all of us."

Jesse butted in, "It doesn't need body armor."

Cameron didn't like how Jesse had referred to her, but let it slide for the moment. "She's right, John. A significant portion of my mass is armor. Five Kevlar vests with trauma plates are less expensive than six."

He was in no condition to argue with her, so he replied, "Alright, you win. What about Cromartie's endo and the bikes?"

Derek answered, "Charley threw Jesse and I out of the room while he was patching you up. We put the bikes in the garage and threw a tarp over the bed to hide the triple-eight."

Cameron didn't want to let go of him, but saw the need to hide the body. "I'll be back after I put the endoskeleton in the basement."

John's eyelids started to droop, so he nodded his assent and she left. Charley went to his bag, found some Vicodin pills, then brought them to John's nightstand along with some water bottles. As Sarah was kicking everyone out of the room, Cameron showed up and moved the computer chair next to his bed. She sat in the chair and took John's hand, barely registering the commands as she ran her thumb over John's knuckles. His eyes fluttered open, and he said, "Guess that was more field test than I could handle."

She had been checking her emotions up until that point, but they were too powerful and she started crying. In between sobs, she pleaded with him, "Please, John, don't do that again!"

'Damnit, I hate it when I make her cry.' He tried to point out, "Cam, I have to fight-"

She forcefully told him, "You can't just stand there and take the bullets like I can!" Her voice wasn't much more than a whisper as she lamented, "I lost you once to violence already. I don't want to think about it happening again."

He tried to leave his bed, but Cameron's firm, gentle hand held him down. She didn't want his stitches tearing. He said, "Damn, I wish I could get up and hold you right now."

She didn't say anything, but climbed under the covers next to him. They embraced one another and she confided to him, "I love you, John. I don't want to live without you."

He felt the oncoming drowsiness, and replied, "I love you too, Cameron. Unless you get called into action, would you please stay with me?"

She answered, "Yes, I'll stay here, John."

As he drifted off, she set to work on creating a voluntary standby mode that would allow her to be fully functional within half a second of registering a threat on her sensors. 15 minutes later, it was done, and she activated it, sending her into a state where she could recompile herself and make sure she was operating at full capacity. The process only took her 20 minutes, and she was grateful that she had because it only reaffirmed the love between her and John.


	9. Awaken

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**November 8, 2007 08:07 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

John Connor awoke to find Cameron at his bedside with a tray. He propped himself up on his pillows as best he could, but even with the painkillers, he didn't get far before Cameron reminded him, "Don't move too quickly, your wound might reopen." He stopped where he was, and saw that the tray had orange juice, pancakes, and bacon on it.

He saw the IV tube in his arm and the bag of fluid on the stand. He asked her, "How long was I out?"

She considered telling him the exact amount of time, but she knew that while John found that sort of thing endearing, he sometimes grew impatient with hearing the long version of everything. "You were comatose for approximately five and one-half days."

'That long? Yikes!' She set the tray in his lap and he carefully took a bite of the pancakes. To his complete surprise, it wasn't anything like his mother usually made. Instead, they tasted of maple syrup and... 'Is that peanut butter? Damned good, whatever it is!' He finished what he was working on and asked her, "Cameron, did you make this?"

He took another bite as she answered, "Yes. Sarah was hesitant, but I explained to her that I downloaded several cookbooks and other recipes from the Internet. I-"

He swallowed and filled in, "-Don't sleep, I know." He noticed that his shirt was damp and asked her, "Do you know why my shirt's wet?"

* * *

_18 hours after John had fallen asleep, Cameron was still lying beside him, so her sensors told her that his vital signs were stable, but he hadn't woken up. She initiated a deeper scan and found out that he had slipped into a coma. 'No, no...' She made sure not to disturb John as she got out of bed, then she immediately bolted downstairs. She found all four adult humans in the living room sitting on the various couches making conversation. Jesse, the newcomer from yet another possible future, asked her, "How's he doing?"_

_She wasn't very loud when she informed them, "His vital signs are stable, but he's in a coma."_

_A pin dropping would have sounded like an in-atmosphere supernova in the room. Derek and Jesse went wide-eyed. Charley adopted his paramedic mindset forthwith and asked her, "The others told me you have all kinds of built-in sensors. When did they tell you he went under?"_

_Her voice was shaking as she reported, "I discovered this less than two minutes ago. A surface scan wouldn't have detected this, I had to probe further to find out."_

_Sarah was fearful for her son and all manner of pissed off. It took Charley, Derek and Jesse to restrain her from attacking Cameron. "Why didn't you do these scans earlier, for Christ's sake!?"_

_Cameron felt as if she had failed her self-appointed mission, even though John was still technically alive. "I knew that the possibility of the medication keeping him unconscious was more likely than a coma."_

_Charley responded, "But this time, Murphy kicked us all in the face. Do you have any idea when he might come out?"_

_Cameron couldn't handle it anymore. "No." She ran back up the stairs and fell to her knees next to John's bed. She cradled him, knowing that he may never come out, that he might be a vegetable the rest of his life. She burst into tears, burying her face in his shirt._

_The others arrived with the equipment to start an IV drip when what they were seeing clicked: Cameron, crying rivers into John's shirt and mumbling how sorry she was between sobs. Charley kept his head and set up the IV to provide him with fluids. After that was done, Sarah went back downstairs silently. Derek and Jesse were in total shock over the fact that in most cases, a machine would make itself useful after someone had been injured, but there she was, breaking down in front of them. Charley shooed them out of the room, then said to Cameron, "I feel really weird saying this, but it's not your fault. You didn't squeeze the trigger."_

_When she didn't respond, he continued, "I believe he'll come out of this sooner or later. If anything I've heard is accurate, he's a fighter." He saw that she wasn't moving from her spot on the floor, so he left to tend to the others._

_After he left, she stopped crying long enough to whisper, "Please come back to me, John. I love you!"

* * *

_

"I discovered that you were in a coma 18 hours after you had fallen asleep. After informing the others that you had entered a comatose state, I came back up here. I was crying until an hour ago, when my sensors told me that you were going to regain consciousness. That's when I decided to leave and make breakfast."

'I knew there was a reason I love her.' John wondered, "You spent that whole time at my bedside..." Then it hit him. "I'm so sorry, Cameron! I hate it when I make you cry."

She squeezed his hand and gave a small smile. "It's OK now, John. You're awake, that will be sufficient for the time being."

He wanted to make it up to her so badly, but having just woken up from a coma, and been shot before that, tended to limit one's physical ability. He had the sudden urge to ask, "You want some, Cam?"

She grabbed a plate from the computer table and replied, "No, but thank you for offering. I made my own." They spent the next few minutes eating in silence, then she asked him, "What were you thinking, when you first saw me?"

He thought back to that day in 1999, when he first laid eyes on his protector/girlfriend. He replied, "I was wondering if you were out to kill me, and I was also thinking that you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever met."

She understood the first part, and was flattered at the second. He turned it around by asking her, "What about you?"

She instantly recalled her memory files of sighting him. "I was relieved that I had finally found you, and... I was wondering if you would love me one day."

He tried to pull her closer to him, but that didn't work so well, so he smiled and said, "I think we both know the answer to that."

Cameron took the dishes and put them on the tray, which she placed on the computer table. She leaned over and kissed him, but after she pulled away John hissed in pain; the vicodin was wearing off. She grabbed the nearby water bottle and administered a low dose of the medication. She knew that it would take effect soon, but she hated to see him in pain, so she distracted him by laying down next to him and embracing him as much as his condition allowed.

Sarah walked in mere moments later, noticed the two of them and asked John, "How do you feel?"

He grunted and answered, "I gotta wonder if Cromartie had some kind of built-in sonic electronic ball breakers, or something."

Sarah snarked, "No, just a pair of Uzis, a bunch of full magazines, and a dumbass named John Connor." Then she lost her temper and ranted, "What the FUCKING HELL were you thinking, just standing there and taking the bullets like one of them?! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Damnit, if you die, so does the rest of the world! I should-"

Cameron got up and grabbed Sarah by the jaw, forcing her to silence while she explained, "John doesn't need this behavior from you right now."

John added, "I already got to hear it from Cameron about taking a bullet, alright? Yeah, it was stupid, but now we know that the shield belts have limits to them and Cromartie's no longer a threat. It's a high price to pay, but in this case I can live with it." He let that sink in for a few seconds, then said, "Let her go."

She did, then Sarah immediately whipped out her Glock and pressed the muzzle to Cameron's forehead. She hissed through clenched teeth, "Why shouldn't I unload this into your head right now? Huh?!"

Cameron started, "Given your lack of accuracy, one of the bullets might hit John."

The elder Connor pressed her gun harder into Cameron. "Miss? Not at this range!"

The cyborg continued, "My organic components may take damage, but my endoskeleton will remain intact."

'Maybe seeing what she is underneath is just what the boy needs.' Sarah replied, "Good wake-up call for John."

Cameron went on, "This type of abuse is why reprogrammed Terminators go bad."

'This is new.' Sarah's grip loosened ever so slightly. "What?"

John cut in, "Mom, she told me about this already. The human commanders would treat them as tools, even though the chips were set to read/write mode. Even Terminators can only tolerate so much."

Cameron stated the obvious, "Humans do make easier targets in their own bases."

'Fine, you win this time.' Sarah finally lowered her pistol and tucked it in the small of her back. "So, if one of the turned machines got damaged, what would happen?"

The cyborg explained, "If parts were available, they were repaired. If the structural damage was too extensive, the CPU was put in another endoskeleton."

John asked, "What if the chip was scrap?"

Cameron answered, "Any usable parts would be salvaged and the rest would be left on the battlefield."

Sarah was curious. "Wouldn't SkyNet grab that stuff and melt down the alloy?"

"Yes. Resources were limited."

John wanted to know something. "What about SkyNet? What if it won somewhere, but there were damaged Terminators?"

"Their CPUs would be removed and transported to the nearest factory where they could be installed in a new endoskeleton. The old one would be salvaged as much as possible, and what wasn't usable would be melted down."

Sarah filled in, "What the Resistance would do, pretty much."

"Experienced soldiers are a valuable asset. SkyNet collected all the data from the units it controlled directly in Hive mode and updated its active units regularly. The independently-operating units in Rogue mode were updated whenever they returned to SkyNet for information downloading."

John felt the pain meds kick in and mumbled, "Mmm, better."

Cameron explained, "I gave him a low dose of pain medication 22 seconds before you walked in."

"Right. Take care of him." She turned to her son and said, "Once you're up and moving under your own steam, we have a lot to talk about." She stomped out of the room, frustrated at life.

John was itchy to get up and do something, even if it was only to feel miserable on the couch. "Cam, is there a chance I could leave this bed, and maybe use my legs?"

She understood that he was anxious to move, to feel alive after his brush with death, but she also knew that he wouldn't be able to go for long without help. "Yes, but only if I'm close by to support you."

'Finally!' He responded, "Works for me." She removed the IV tube from his arm, and ever-so-gently helped him stand up. His legs felt shaky, but that passed after a few minutes. His left arm was slung over her shoulders while he used his right hand to cup her cheek and turn her so they could look one another in the eye. He cracked wise with, "I always knew there was a reason I love you."

She gingerly pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss, the most that they would be able to do under the circumstances. "I love you too."

Remembering what he swore to himself earlier, he told her, "I promise I'll make all this up to you when I can, OK?"

'He's being stubborn again.' She answered, "It's all right, John. This is why I'm here. There's no need for you to do anything."

He wasn't letting that slide. "Maybe you don't think so, but I do, so I'm going to. Please, don't argue with me on this one."

'It's nice that he's always thinking of me, but that could be dangerous.' Instead of launching into an explanation of why he shouldn't worry about her so much, she merely responded, "OK. Shall we go downstairs?"

John's bladder suddenly decided to let him know that he had business to attend to first. "Yeah, after I make a pit stop." He saw her look of confusion and elaborated, "I need to use the restroom."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining."

**09:00**

After John's bathroom break, they made it to the living room before he felt lightheaded and Cameron promptly deposited him on the loveseat. She then took her place at his side when Sarah entered the room.

She asked him, "Hey, you up to speed yet?"

He brought himself back to Earth and replied, "Sort of. She's helping me get around."

She asked Cameron, "Did you carry him here?"

"No, I only supported him. He insisted on using his legs."

Sarah knew her son, and his pigheadedness. "Sounds about right. We need to talk."

John knew that the conversation wasn't going to be mere chit-chat, so he asked, "Alright, what's going on?"

Cameron replied, "Agent Ellison is on our side and he's trying to get our names cleared. We also have a new lead on the Turk."

'Inside man, cool.' He lit up and asked, "The Turk, who's got it?"

Sarah answered, "Margos Sarkissian, he owns an Internet café on the other side of town."

"OK." John's next question was, "How are Derek and Jesse?"

'At least this is truly good news.' She responded, "Just great. They took down one of the old T-800s. It had a safe house not too far from here. They're leaving stuff there for us to use."

'Good, another bolt-hole if we ever need it.' Aloud he answered, "Sweet. What about the I-950?"

Cameron replied, "We don't have any more information yet."

"Nuts." He asked his mother, "So, what now?"

She wanted to get back to fighting SkyNet, but John needed a little more time. "You get better, I want you up and moving on your own tomorrow."

Cameron chimed in, "We do have a war to win."


	10. Are we all on the same page?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

**November 9, 2007 09:02 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

Cameron had been working on the prototype phaser throughout the night when she heard noise coming from John's room and thought to herself, 'He's stirring, I should ensure that he doesn't overexert himself.' She put down the parts she was modifying and walked across the hall to John's room.

He was stretching out his arms when she arrived. He opened his eyes and saw her, then he grinned and asked, "Hey Cam, busy night?"

She answered, "Yes. I should have the phaser ready for testing tomorrow if I finish it tonight." Then she inquired of him, "How do you feel?"

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up, and didn't fall over. "Glad I spent most of yesterday on my feet, so my legs would get used to standing again."

She pulled him close, ran her fingers over his cheek and said, "I love you, John. It's good to have you back."

He responded, "I love you too, Cameron." They embraced and their lips met, a silent pact between them, then the kiss intensified. She grabbed his head with one hand and ran the other all over his chest. He responded in kind, except that his other hand was on her back instead of her chest. It wasn't too long before John broke the kiss because he needed to breathe. Once he could speak he said, "We might want to head downstairs. Mom's probably wondering what's keeping us."

* * *

They descended the staircase to find not only Sarah, but also Charley, Derek, Jesse, and Agent James Ellison, the last with a notepad and pen. 'Cameron told me he was on our side, right. He's probably the only one, though.' He quipped, "OK, this isn't a tea party. What's going on?"

Sarah asked, "Who wants to start?"

James took the initiative. "We tried to capture one of the machines not long ago."

Sarah said, "Yeah, when Cromartie killed 20 of your HRT guys."

Something in the Agent's memory came bubbling to the surface. "Cromartie... The shooter with the robot leg in 1999 went by that name."

John responded, "They're the same robot underneath, Agent."

The Agent requested, "Please, call me James."

Cameron said, "James, Cromartie was disabled recently."

James wondered, "What happened?"

Charley filled in, "Sarah, John and Cameron came to recruit me. Apparently, that robot was on its way to kill me when it spotted John and Cameron."

James had started writing when Jesse muttered under her breath, "Twisted lovebirds."

Of course, Cameron heard that, but she decided to ignore it. Charley went on, "They have weapons that can knock one of these things offline. They told me it detected those, then turned tail and ran. When they caught up with it, the gunfight started."

Sarah decided to summarize, "Long story short, John got himself shot, Cameron smashed Cromartie's head, Charley got him stable enough to move, we hauled back here, Derek and Jesse were waiting for us, and we got him stabilized."

John added, "Oh, then after Cameron carried me up to my bed, I ended up in a coma until yesterday morning."

James took it all in, then asked, "Where's Cromartie now?"

Cameron replied, "In the basement. I smashed the endoskull, the CPU has been destroyed."

Derek wondered, "What possessed you to do that? Isn't removing the chip your usual MO?"

The cyborg responded, "I was angry that Cromartie dared to hurt John."

James couldn't believe what they were saying. "No, that's impossible. Machines don't feel."

Before Cameron could launch into an explanation of why she was different, John retorted, "If that were the case, then why did she cry over me for almost the entire time I was out?"

Jesse replied, "I don't know, you tell me. I only arrived eight days ago."

James put it together. "You're from the future?"

She snarked, "Yeah, 2027. She'd been by his side for 20 years."

John and Cameron looked at each other, then they both smiled briefly and he asked Jesse, "Why do you say that like it's a bad thing? Because she was built instead of born?"

When Jesse didn't respond, he snidely remarked, "Guess you're another one of the 'I hate machines no matter which side they're on' crowd."

She shot back, "You think you know it all, don't you Connor?" She leaned forward and icily remarked, "You don't know fuck-all about this."

James had encountered soldiers that had come back from Afghanistan and Iraq with not only PTSD, but foul mouths to boot. He supposed that someone from the future war would be even worse about cursing. 'I guess I'll just have to set an example.'

John managed to keep a lid on his temper as he threw out his rejoinder. "Yeah, well did SkyNet try to kill your mother before you were born? Did the 'authorities' lock her up for daring to speak the truth and try to stop it? Did it send a T-1000 to kill you when you were only a kid?" Her jaw dropped and he continued, "Did it send a triple-eight to kill you as a teenager? Are all Terminators programmed to drop everything to kill you for things you haven't done yet?" When no one said anything, he finished with, "I didn't think so. Believe what you want, but Cameron does feel, and I'm staying with her. Deal with it."

'Stubborn as ever, but that could change.' Jesse ranted, "You're making a mistake, Connor. Thanks to 'her' strategies, a lot of good people have been killed. Human people, whose brains can't be put in new bodies!"

John muttered so low that only Cameron could hear, "I guess she hasn't met Dave."

She asked the bitter fighter, "Do you have any examples of my strategies resulting in more casualties than are usually encountered on missions?"

Jesse retorted, "A few excessively well-defended factories come to mind."

Cameron continued, "Were they in close proximity to SkyNet's core facility?"

The other woman huffed and replied, "No, try Topanga Canyon."

'Time Displacement Equipment was invented there.' Cameron pressed on, "Were any of those factories ever recaptured by SkyNet?"

Jesse sat back, sighing in defeat. "No."

'Next question.' "Did the casualties include people you knew?"

Jesse looked a little sad as she recalled, "A few. The only one I thought was worth a phaser was Jacob, and he was still annoying."

John thought, 'She actually builds those, and they're in common use among the Resistance? Sweet! Makes me wonder if SkyNet ever got them.'

Cameron asked, "Were you injured as a result of any of my strategies backfiring?"

* * *

_Jesse was spending some of her limited free time in her quarters, alone since Derek had disappeared. The shrapnel wound on her right side was almost done healing. 'Damn scrubbed trip eight! What the Hell was Connor thinking?' Then the General himself showed up. _

_She immediately stood up and snapped to attention. Connor told her, "Flores, I have a mission for you. Please come with me." She complied, wondering what she had gotten herself into this time. She disagreed with him on using metal to fight for them, but she followed orders regardless._

_After silently navigating a seeming maze of tunnels, they arrived at a locked blast door. General Connor put his eyes near the retinal scanners as they did their job. The door opened, and he stepped into the room, motioning for Jesse to follow. Through the window, she saw a room full of what appeared to be reactors, computers, and a platform. She asked him, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"_

_Connor knew he had to send her back, so he replied, "Granted."_

_A confused Jesse asked, "What am I looking at? What does all that do?"_

_He explained, "That's a time machine, Flores. I'm sending you back in time to November 1, 2007 to intercept an I-950 that was sent to that time. You will likely encounter the earlier versions of Cameron, Dixon, and myself after you arrive. You'll probably also run into my mother, Sarah Connor, and James Ellison, an FBI Agent."_

_'No way. No fucking way.' She retorted, "Sir, time travel should be impossible!"_

_"If that were true, neither Cameron nor myself would even be here. She sent herself from her original 2027 to 1999 because the other me had died. She, my mother and I all jumped from then to 2007 to try and prevent all this."_

_Even with that information, her opinion didn't change. "With respect, sir, I don't think it helped much."_

_'You have no idea.' "Firstly, were it not for Cameron, I'd be dead, so would the rest of you, we wouldn't have the phasers and shields at all, and we'd have been stuck with plasma rifles. Secondly, Dixon was an extraordinary paramedic on his own, but thanks to us intervening, he brought his teaching skills up to par and we all know how to perform first aid on the wounded."_

_Jesse had a burning question. "Sir, I have to ask, how long have you and..." She paused, wanting to scream every insult she knew at the metal, but she merely finished, "... your wife been together?"_

_For once, his shell opened up just a little bit, and she saw the man Cameron referred to as 'just John' instead of the equal-opportunity hardass she knew as 'Connor.' He was nostalgic as he recounted the tale. "I met Cameron on September 6__th__, 1999. She was posing as a high school student to get close to me. The next day a triple-eight attacked. If it weren't for her taking the bullets, and running Cromartie over with a truck a little later, I'd have been killed that day."_

_"Sir, your wife is-"_

_Connor restrained his temper as he retorted, "What, a machine? Physically, yes. I accepted that long ago. Otherwise, she's more human than some of us meatbags."_

_'Bullshit! If she's out of the picture, we might have fewer problems with morale. I'll have to see about that. No point in hanging around here anymore.' She decided to focus on the mission he had given her, to evade the risk of an enraged John Connor. "What's the 950 look like?"_

_He remembered the intel report, sketchy as it was. "A teenage girl. That's all we know. Cameron's earlier self is the most likely one to find her."_

_Jesse had one other burning question. "What if I find any Grays?"_

_Connor knew that the order he was about to give would condemn hundreds, if not thousands, to their deaths, but the sarcastic part of his brain reminded him, 'Billions are dead thanks to SkyNet, and these traitors work for it. Fuck it, we're all gonna die soon anyway, what's a few thousand more?' He pulled a plastic case with an old SD card in it and told her, "This contains a video message to any and all Resistance members in the past. You'll need to put this in your mouth, seeing as we have to send you back naked."_

_She had gone nearly nude before, but only in extreme cases. "Sir?"_

_He sighed and elaborated, "The only way to send back anything non-organic that's bigger is to grow a flesh covering around it, like a Terminator."_

_He knew she could kick ass on most of the males on any base, but all the same he ordered her, "Leave everything except what I just gave you at the security station, even your clothes." He extended his hand. "Good luck, soldier."_

_She shook his hand, then they walked toward the security station. After depositing everything as ordered, she walked onto the platform. Connor told the bubble tech the spatial and temporal coordinates, then he moved closer to where the bubble would appear and said, "Two more things, Jesse."_

_'Huh?' "What are those, sir?"_

_"First, I'd suggest kneeling to fit in the bubble. Second, say hello to Derek Reese for me." Then he backed away as the lightning started to crackle._

_She could see the sphere forming around her, and she hurriedly put the card and case in her mouth and shut it tightly, but she wondered, 'Derek? He got sent back?' Then there was a flash of light, and she was dumped in a back alley on November 1, 2007.

* * *

_

Jesse showed everyone present the newest scar, on her right side, and explained, "There was a reprogrammed triple-eight in a bunker I was assigned to. It went bad, and took out half that bunker before it could be scrapped." She was lost in memory as she went on, "Bird, Cullie. That's from the same shrapnel that killed Cullie." She returned to the present and continued, "Connor sent me back to deal with the new arrival and any Grays." She saw the confused look and Charley and James' faces and explained, "Grays are traitors, humans that work for SkyNet. I-950s are grown from modified human DNA and given cybernetic implants. They're meant to truly infiltrate us, destroy us from the inside out. Machines follow their orders outside of SkyNet supervision. Dogs can't sniff 'em out."

Jesse knew that now was the time to show them the files on the card. She pulled it out of her pocket and explained, "Before he sent me back, Connor had me smuggle this in my mouth. Said it had a video you needed to watch."

"I'll be back with my computer." John went and retrieved the item in question, then booted it while he was on his way downstairs. When he arrived, everyone was silent until the boot cycle was complete. Everyone gathered around him as he put the card into the appropriate slot and a window with the contents appeared. He saw the file marked, 'Watch Me First' and opened it.

The video took over the screen and they all saw the face of John's future self. He started, "This is General John Connor. If you're watching this, I'll assume that you made contact with Jesse Flores. Congratulations on surviving that long."

He went on, "On this memory card are lists of known Grays and SkyNet creators. My standing order for every member of the Resistance, including myself, is that they are to be killed on sight. These traitors cannot be allowed to destroy Earth, and humanity after that! They have done far too much damage to us to be allowed to live!" The camera shook as he continued, "We're losing this war, and even with all the tech on our side, SkyNet's overwhelming us by sheer numbers. I don't know how much longer I have until they reach this bunker and the time machine further in. I guess SkyNet decided to have its minions use all that intelligence it programmed into them." His finger hovered over a button, but right before he pressed it he said, "General John Connor, signing off." Then the video ended.

Everyone sat in silence for several minutes, unable or unwilling to comprehend the part about humans losing to SkyNet. John broke the silence by asking Jesse, "Were we losing?"

She hung her head in resignation as she admitted,"We were losing, slowly, but just the same."

John was still shocked about his future self's standing order. "How did I turn into that bad of a hardass General dude?"

Jesse snarked, "Oh, the usual, horrors of war in a nuclear wasteland and all that." She gestured to the cyborg as she said, "Cameron over there wasn't immune either. She went through four endos last I heard."

'Four? What made me that inefficient... and what kind of threat was there to John?' Cameron asked, "What precipitated the need for additional endoskeletons in my Model?"

Derek replied, "Probably jumping in front of plasma blasts to protect John."

Jesse answered, "Yeah, one of them from one of his own troops. Turned out to be a thirty-six year old woman. Once Cameron was fixed up, John killed the traitorous bitch that shot her. Blew her head off with his .45."

John wondered, "What was her name?"

"Cheri Westin. Had quite the grudge over you and Cameron. Said she went to school with the two of you when everyone thought you were siblings."

John snarked, "Thanks a lot, mom."

Sarah retorted, "If I had taken the tack we are now, people would have asked too many questions. We'd have had to move again."

Cameron played the role of Captain Obvious. "We did anyway after Carter blew up the old house."

James asked, "Carter?"

Sarah filled him in. "Another machine, sent back to stockpile the metal SkyNet uses to build the Terminators."

Charley asked, "Where is it now?"

Derek answered, "The basement. Cameron put Carter and Vick down there after we moved in."

Cameron supplied, "A Terminator was posing as Vick Chamberlain, husband to Barbara Chamberlain, the former City Manager of Los Angeles. After she had completed her part in creating SkyNet, Vick killed her."

James needed to know more. "What did she build?"

John replied, "ARTIE, it stands for 'Automated Real-time Traffic Information Exchange.' It'll allow SkyNet to monitor everything and control all of it's units at once."

Charley said, "Oh, the screwball traffic system that crashed."

Sarah interrupted, "Back on topic here, what are we going to do about the Grays? Do we follow his standing order and kill these people or what?"

James warned them, "If you commit to such a course of action, I may not be able to protect you from the consequences."

Sarah's phone beeped, indicating a text message. She fumbled with it for a minute before she asked John, "Remind me again, how do I look at my messages?"

He showed her, then she read it aloud. "Wi-Fi'd It, 10:00 AM, three days. Table 19." After a moment she added, "It's from Sarkissian."

John asked, "He still has the Turk?"

Sarah replied, "So he says." Then she started giving orders. "Derek, Jesse, I want you two to do a stake-out. Let me know if he's lying or not. Cameron, you'll be going in with me on the day of the meet. John, you'll be waiting outside, covering our backs. Charley, James, you should go back to your jobs, but be ready to respond if we call needing help." She asked James, "Just how many people in the FBI know about the machines, Agent?"

James answered, "All of us. Every last Agent. We've even recalled all of our overseas Agents to help us with this."

Jesse remarked, "Who knows, some of your fellow Agents might be Resistance fighters."

Charley hated to rain on their parade, but he felt the need to say something, so he added,"Or machines. Cromartie put himself in as Robert Kester, what's to stop more from doing the same?"

Before James could say anything, Derek replied,"Absolutely nothing." He told Sarah, "Use the safe house Jesse and I got from scrapping that old 800. There's a Jeep there, all gassed up and ready to go. Last thing we need is anyone or anything tracing us back here."

Everyone nodded their agreement, then Cameron asked, "John, what do you want to do about the Grays?"

He thought about that for a minute, then responded, "I don't know yet, but let's worry about the Turk for now. Once we have SkyNet's brain, we'll start really cleaning house, or planet in this case."

Sarah questioned him, "What if something comes up?"

John answered, "We'll deal with it. For me, being flexible goes without saying."

'Flexible... he means adaptable. He's very good at that.' Cameron asked, "What are we going to do while we wait for three days?"

Derek rose, then Jesse followed suit as he said, "Guess that's our cue to get to work."

Charley looked at his watch, then said, "I start in an hour. You know how they rotate our shifts."

James had been writing the entire time, so he finished with his notes and said, "I need to return to my office. It seems my CI's have provided me a wealth of information we can use to prevent the Apocalypse."

Sarah, ever paranoid, asked, "Wait, are we listed in your computers as alive?"

James answered, "No. I have a set of confidential informants with no names or faces. However, they do bear a striking resemblance to the people currently in this house."

Everyone exchanged their goodbyes, then the others filed out, leaving Sarah, John, and Cameron in the house. The elder Connor then inquired of her son, "So, what are you going to do for three days?"

John laid out for them, "Rest, recover, hack into Carter's chip." Then he mused, "How exactly did he escape the bunker?"

Cameron got up and informed him, "I'll meet you in your room with Carter's chip."

John called after her, "See you in a bit, babe." Then he asked his mother, "What about you? Any progress with Vick's papers?"

She sighed and reported, "Nothing but ARTIE. I only have three more folders to go, and so far, nothing immediately useful."

John closed his computer and replied, "Well, off I go, then."


	11. The webs within the webs

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: TMOJAC is meant to be John/Cameron centric, but I'm trying to give other characters their time in the spotlight, kinda like my earlier stories. Please bear with me on this one.

**November 9, 2007 11:02 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

John Connor had just returned to his bedroom and plugged in his computer when Cameron showed up with a T-888 CPU. He looked at her expectantly and she said, "It's Carter's chip."

He replied, "Thanks, Cam. Now it's time to see just how he escaped from an inescapable bunker." He plugged the chip into the interface and started his work. Moments later, he found himself at what appeared to be a directory. He asked his companion, "Cameron, don't you think it's strange that SkyNet would program in an obvious directory if the chips can be hacked?"

She took a seat beside him and explained, "It is more efficient to use a root directory for Grays assessing unit performance, however that does leave the CPU vulnerable to being easily hacked, as you're doing now."

"Double-edged sword. Huh." He tapped at the keyboard, then he found the visual memory for when they had locked Carter in Depot 37. Onscreen, the bunker doors closed, then mere moments later the video went blank. John muttered, "What the Hell?" Then the feed flickered back to life, the timestamp showing it rebooted two hours later, and they saw as Carter walked into the office, reached into the desk and removed a spare key to the blast doors. John groaned inwardly as he watched the machine escape its makeshift prison.

John turned to Cameron and asked her, "I know it's a stupid question, but Terminators always have a backup plan, right?"

She answered, "At least one, several if possible. The only stupid question-"

He put his arm around her and drew her closer, then finished, "-Is the one I don't ask." Then he asked her, "Did I tell you that before you left?"

She snaked her arm around him and replied, "Yes, and after Judgment Day, everyone's experience reinforces that philosophy."

He snarked, "Naturally." He muttered to no one in particular, "Now how in the hell did he meet up with Cromartie?"

Cameron, being who and what she was, once again pointed out the obvious. "That information is on the chip."

John chuckled and said, "I know, Cam. I was just thinking out loud." He went to work, poking around in the visual memory until he saw it. Carter was on the way to the local FBI headquarters when a tall, well-built man with sandy blonde hair in a suit with an FBI badge made his way over to the machine, held up a photo of John and informed the newcomer, "John Connor is alive in this time."

John looked confused, so Cameron supplied him with, "Cromartie recognized Carter's Model and recruited assistance. I don't know how they found the old house."

He remarked, "Probably Cromartie, but his chip was obliterated."

Cameron knew that knowledge was power, but her emotional side had overridden her normally logical self. "My mistake."

He reassured her, "Cam, it's all right, I get it. You were pissed off that he got a hit in on me."

She stated, "People do stupid things when they're angry."

Snarky as ever, John replied, "Welcome to the club."

* * *

**Meanwhile, across town...**

In the barrio, a blonde-haired blue-eyed teenage girl calmly strode toward the house she was looking at. She noticed the Hispanic girl posted as a lookout, but didn't care. She had spent the past eight days quietly gathering enough money to get her false identification papers, which would be registered as legitimate in the system if the man did as she would ask. She checked her outfit, which consisted of a denim miniskirt, thigh-high boots, a green and black striped T-shirt, and matching red undergarments. 'Enough to bend the men to my will, but not enough that they lose their cognitive abilities.' She had ten thousand dollars of the half-million she had stolen in her purse. 'Here I go.'

She walked up to the porch of the house and a man, tattooed, large, shirtless and wearing sunglasses, immediately blocked her path. He gave her the once over, but while she didn't seem threatening, something about her was weird, so he didn't budge. The female lookout didn't like the look of the outsider either, so she made ready to bolt inside at the first sign of trouble.

The blonde I-950 told them, "Hey, I'm here on business. Gomez sent me."

After the lookout and the muscle exchanged a glance, he moved back to where he was while she led the girl inside. She thought to herself, 'Dogs. Good thing I'm not metal.' The lookout led her to the living room, then promptly left. The men all eyed her, not only to assess whether she was a threat or not, but also wondering if they would get her into bed. The girl caught their staring and made a mental note to kill them if they so much as touched her the wrong way.

The man in the middle asked her, "Can I help you with somethin', miss?"

She answered, "Gomez sent me, he said you were the guy to talk to about IDs."

'Not likely to be a cop. OK.' He stood up and replied, "Business, then. All right, what you need?"

'SkyNet told me to go all out, so that's what I'll do.' She told him, "A full set of IDs, passport included."

'Tricky, but it's money.' "Well, I gotta get you in the system for that, and it's gonna cost you." He mentally calculated for a moment, then informed her, "Eight thousand."

'That was easy.' "I can do that. How long will it take?"

"Gimme two days, but first things first." He handed the girl a form he had made up to make his business easier and a pencil. He asked her, "So, what's your name?"

She picked a name on the spot. "Riley Lucky Dawson."

* * *

**13:21  
A park not far from Wi-Fi'd It**

Derek Reese was sitting on a bench enjoying the hot dog he had bought from the vendor when Jesse Flores sat next to him. He finished his bite then asked her, "What's up?"

She reported, "I don't like this at all. I saw a couple mobster types head in there, then they came out two hours later."

He wondered, "How did Sarkissian take it?"

She answered, "I think they made a deal."

"Next question: Did you see the Turk?"

Jesse told him, "Yep. He's got it. Whether he'll keep it long enough to consider our offer is anybody's guess."

He huffed and replied, "Jesse, the guy's a mobster. I can tell just by looking at him."

She cocked her eyebrow and asked, "You think he's gonna try something?"

Cynical as ever, Derek retorted, "I'm counting on it. Makes me wonder if our metal friends know about this."

She shrugged and said, "Maybe. For all we know, one of them already made him a hefty offer."

He snarked, "Great, probably more than John and the Tin Bitch can come up with."

She pondered, "About that, do you have any idea how to get rid of her?"

He shook his head. "No, not without pissing off John and maybe causing him to abandon us. Humanity."

She wanted to scream at him, but settled for slightly raising her voice and insisting, "Derek, he married it."

He thought to himself, 'Knowing full well what she is... ick!'

Jesse continued, "Later on, after he found Allison Young's body, he removed the parts Cameron needed to have human children. A machine giving birth!"

Derek told her, "Jesse, that's all kinds of wrong, but I'd like to keep my lunch down. In any case, I've learned something, being here."

She was curious. "What's that?"

"John Connor will do what he wants, and there's nothing short of killing him that will stop him from being in love with that machine."

Jesse asked him, "What did you do when it hit you?"

He recounted, "I moved out. I used to live with them, that's why I still have a key to the house."

She replied, "Good thing. Maybe you can help me with the machine."

He made eye contact with her and answered, "Jesse, I don't like it either, but I get the feeling that if it didn't kill us, John would."

She was shocked, and her face showed it. "I remember you being determined to scrap her above all else. What happened to you?"

He threw out a guess. "I'm not the Derek Reese you remember?"

She thought about that for a minute, then answered, "I guess all that about alternate timelines was true, then."

He changed the subject. "Yep. Well, we have all we're gonna get for now. Wanna go gun shopping?"

Jesse replied, "Why not? Might be fun. Besides, I could use a new stainless gun."


	12. The timing kinda sucks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: If I get anything wrong about the FBI, chalk it up to creative license, but feel free to point out any errors by hitting the green button at the bottom!

_**April 21, 2011  
Judgment Day**_

_John Connor and Cameron Phillips were on their lone remaining Harley-Davidson racing toward Cheyenne Mountain when they saw the first signs of the war to come. In the distance, T-1 drones under the control of SkyNet were slaughtering civilians when what was left of the United States Army arrived with their Humvees, Bradley IFV's and Abrams tanks. At first, the humans were successful, but John also saw a pair of F-22 Raptors engaging a single prototype Hunter-Killer craft. The jets each fired a missile at it, but the VTOL craft dodged both of them. Then it turned on a dime and launched it's own missiles at the human forces._

_The human pilots kicked in the afterburners and even pulled 8G turns, but to no avail. SkyNet's missiles found their targets and the jets exploded in a hail of flaming scrap. Another missile was headed straight toward where the ground forces were fighting. Cameron screamed over the noise, "John! Hang on and close your eyes!"_

_The boy did as he was told, but he still saw the flash even with closed eyelids and his cyborg lover in front of him. After the flash, he opened his eyes to see the mushroom cloud where the fighting vehicles used to be. He noticed the bike slowing down and deduced that the EMP fried the electrical systems. Cameron was doing her best to keep them steady, and they barely stopped on their wheels._

_John asked her, "How much further, Cam?"_

_Cameron's scanners told her what she needed to know. "Half a mile. We have to go now."_

_He grabbed his phaser and quipped, "Tell me something I don't know!"_

_She was serious when she replied, "Derek and Jesse guided Sarah, Charley, their earlier selves and Kyle Reese to safety inside Cheyenne Mountain. I'm detecting the signal from the transponder I gave them."_

_No matter how much he disagreed with the four of them at times, he was relieved that they had gotten themselves and the man who might be his father in a new timeline to safety. "Good to know."_

_The trek from their bike to the base was uneventful in their immediate vicinity. Elsewhere, however, humans were dying by the millions as the bombs fell. Every so often, Cameron had to warn John when another warhead was about to detonate to save his eyesight._

_He saw a humanoid shape moving through the desert, running impossibly fast for a man. As the shape got closer, he saw a familiar face, but it was marred by the exposed metal. There was only one being he knew of with that particular configuration. He stopped and yelled out, "Cameron!"_

_She returned to him, having gone ahead to scout for problems, and asked, "What's the matter?"_

_He nodded his head toward the machine headed their way and merely spoke the name of the man it had been sent to replace. "James Ellison."_

_'Ellison' lifted what appeared to be one of the Army's newest anti-tank missile launchers. Cameron and John shared a split-second look; they had exactly one chance to escape that missile alive. Cameron drew her phaser, and the triple-eight fired._

_They had set the weapons to full power, but it had no effect. As a last-ditch resort, Cameron picked John up and threw him in the direction of Cheyenne Mountain, then she jumped in front of the missile._

_While John was in midair, he fired on 'Ellison', but missed. He saw Cameron jump in front of the missile, barely had time to scream, "NO!," then the Ellison Terminator smirked as the world went white.

* * *

_

**November 10, 2007  
06:33 PST  
Los Angeles, California**

"GAAAHH!"

John bolted upright, hyperventilating for a few seconds before calming himself down. He had just gotten himself back to breathing normally when Cameron opened the door. He practically jumped out of bed and hugged her, mumbling, "Cameron, thank God you're here."

She hugged him back, but was puzzled about his behavior. "John, what's the matter?"

They separated and he told her, "I had a really bad nightmare."

She had covertly scanned him during their embrace and detected his abnormally high stress level. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He sat on his bed and patted the mattress beside him. "Here, sit down." She complied, and it took a few minutes, but he explained his nightmare in detail.

After he finished, she asked, "Do you think James Ellison is a liability?"

He shook his head, then made eye contact. "Cam, it's not about trusting him. It's about making sure he isn't replaced by a machine."

She replied, "If he was a Terminator, the particle beams would have vaporized him."

He sighed, then said, "Well, so far as any of us know, he hasn't been replaced yet. I'll warn him about it, but how will he defend himself without us giving him a fusion gun? The last thing we need is for that technology to fall into the wrong hands."

Cameron supplied, "He can legally acquire armor-piercing handgun ammunition due to his position in the FBI."

John had his doubts. "Will that work on a triple-eight?"

She calculated it in her chip, then answered, "I don't know. It depends on what he uses and where the bullets hit the machine. In his position, no matter what I was using, I would aim for the joints."

He caught on quickly. "Disable it and call for backup, then get the tools out and try to yank the chip. Risky."

She replied, "Yes, it is. I finished the prototype phaser while you were asleep. It's ready for testing."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

She explained to him, "There's a setting that will overload the circuitry of any endoskeleton-based Terminator." She handed him the weapon, then told him, "Shoot me with that."

Had John seen the look of disbelief on his own face, he would have called it 'priceless.' "What? No way! What are you thinking?"

She deadpanned, "It's the most expedient manner of testing the effectiveness of this weapon."

He tried to keep calm, but some of his discomfort slipped out. "Cameron, I'm not shooting you! Not unless you get brainwashed, or chip-washed as the case may be. Even then, that's the last thing I want to do."

She asked him, "What do you propose as an alternative?"

His immediate response was, "Umm, one of the triple-eights." After a moment of thought, he elaborated, "Carter. He's smaller and more maneuverable, harder to hit."

"I agree." She noticed that his eyelids had started drooping, and told him, "John, you should go back to sleep. You haven't acquired sufficient rest for the day."

He knew it would suck trying to doze off after being awoken by a nightmare. "Cam, I doubt I'll sleep very well."

She brushed her fingers along his cheek and detected his fatigue levels already causing him to lose consciousness, but decided he could do with some reassurance. "I'll be close when you wake up."

He went out on a limb and asked her, "Will you join me, please?" He noticed her apprehensive expression and said, "I promise I won't slip into a coma this time."

She replied, "OK." They threw the covers over themselves and found a comfortable position.

John kissed Cameron and whispered, "I love you, Cameron."

"I love you too, John." Right before he nodded off, she added, "Sweet dreams." She had read about how other girls had felt when they listened to their men's heartbeats, and while she had a mechanical pump that provided circulation for her synthetic blood, she thought that John would find it too precise. Then she disregarded that line of thought and put her head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

* * *

**10:02 PST**

Sarah, John, Cameron, Derek, Jesse, Charley, and James were all assembled in the Connor's living room. Cameron had contacted the latter four the day before and told them that she needed them present for the unveiling.

She held up her creation and explained to those assembled, "I have modified this fusion pistol to function similar to a phaser from Star Trek: First Contact. I was unable to compress the technology into a smaller form factor, but I intend to mass produce these weapons after testing."

Derek, ever suspicious, asked, "How, exactly, do you plan on testing this thing out?"

The cyborg elaborated, "I provided a setting that will overload the circuits of any Terminator it hits. I will test it by reactivating Carter."

Before anyone else could react, John added, "She originally wanted me to shoot her with it, but I convinced her to take one of the triple-eights instead."

Jesse deadpanned, "That's too bad."

Cameron ignored that comment and stated, "Everyone present for the test will be armed, including Carter."

Sarah had to ask, "What are you, insane?!"

Charley defused the situation somewhat by explaining, "Live-fire exercise, Sarah." He turned to John and said, "Like it or not, you're gonna have to get used to being shot at, Johnny."

Sarah flinched at the mere suggestion of her son potentially being shot again. Derek only replied, "Yeah." Jesse nodded in acknowledgment of that fact. James sat in quiet contemplation of what was happening around him.

Cameron turned to the future Savior and said, "John, this means you'll have to let me take the bullets for you."

John grumbled, "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

James threw in his two cents. "John, God made time travel possible for a reason-"

Sarah exclaimed, "No! If there was a God, he wouldn't have let SkyNet be built in the first place. John would have had a normal life, his father would have lived, and Cameron would be flesh and bone, not... whatever she's made out of."

Cameron thought, 'I like being made of hyperalloy, but I don't blame you, Sarah.' She spoke, "The chemical formula and smelting process would be too complex for most organic brains to grasp, but the Resistance referred to my endoskeletal material as 'unobtanium.' I believe it was named in reference to the fact that they couldn't duplicate it."

John decided to salvage the situation by wrapping his left arm around Cameron's shoulders and calmly told everyone, "This isn't helping us fight SkyNet." Then he asked his cyborg girlfriend, "What were you saying before the conversation got... derailed?"

She repeated, "Everyone present for the test will be armed, including Carter."

James replied, "Yes, but where will this testing happen?"

Sarah supplied, "There's woods not too far from here, we'll do it there."

Charley chipped in, "You sure that's a good idea? If something goes wrong, the fire department will be all over us. I'm not sure I can cover for you."

James replied, "Nevada desert. There's places that are secluded enough to conduct this kind of testing."

Sarah put in, "That's a good drive from here. Are you sure we can get back quickly enough for the meet with Sarkissian?"

John answered, "Yeah, if we make it quick."

Derek had the last word. "Well, what are we waiting for, written invitations?"


	13. Live fire exercise

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: My apologies for this chapter taking so long! I started school recently, I'm still working full-time and I've had quite the case of writer's block on how to execute the testing while keeping it original. So without further ado...

**November 10, 2007  
****16:24 PST  
****Some desert in Nevada**

Sarah, John, Cameron, Derek, Jesse, Charley, and James stood over Carter, whose chip was in Cameron's hand. The area they were in was secluded and broken up by rocky terrain.

Jesse asked, "Remind me again why we're this far out in the middle of nowhere? We could have done this in your house, you know."

Sarah retorted, "And set off a homing beacon for SkyNet? I don't think so."

Derek added, "Besides Jess, this isn't too far off from the rubble of our worlds. Makes a good training ground."

Charley said, "Maybe, but let's get this over with. This whole plan has me edgy."

James muttered, "I second that motion."

Cameron noted, "Carter will reboot fifteen seconds after I insert his chip."

John ordered, "Everyone else, split up, cover up and observe. Cam, go."

John and the adults took off in different directions while Cameron reinserted Carter's chip and port cover, then she left him a loaded pistol and three extra magazines and went for stealth herself. Durandal had provided plenty of shield belts, so everyone was wearing one, even Cameron.

* * *

**SKYNET SERIES 888 MODEL 810 SYSTEM VERSION 3.10.**

**ALIAS: RICHARD CARTER.**

**PRIMARY MISSION: TERMINATE JOHN CONNOR.  
****MISSION PARAMETERS: USE ANY AND ALL MEANS NECESSARY.**

**ORIGINAL PRIMARY MISSION: GATHER COLTAN ALLOY FOR SKYNET USE AFTER JUDGMENT DAY.  
****-MISSION FAILED: SHIPMENT STOLEN BY SARAH CONNOR, JOHN CONNOR, AND RENEGADE UNIT CAMERON PHILLIPS.**

* * *

Carter rose and discovered that a loaded pistol and three full magazines were on the ground next to him. The fact that they had been left there did not strike him a suspicious, so he grabbed them and set out to find his target.

John saw Carter retrieve the weapon left for him and start to stalk off. He readied his own weapon and set off after him, intent on testing its power. Knowing the machine would hear it, he muttered, "Hey Carter, remember me?"

* * *

**VOICE AND FACIAL MATCH: JOHN CONNOR.**

**ACTION: TERMINATE.**

**WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURES DETECTED.**

* * *

Carter, in order to prevent any damage to his endoskeleton from the unknown energy weapon John was carrying, raised his pistol and squeezed the trigger. John thought quickly to himself, 'The belt will keep all of those from hitting me, just not six full UZI mags worth.' He kept coming when the bullet hit the shield and dropped harmlessly to the ground.

Carter shifted his point of aim to the boy's chest and emptied the magazine, his systems drawing a blank when the bullets didn't even hit their target. He quickly recovered and threw the gun down, deciding to go for decapitation.

John saw that the triple-eight was going to try and kill him with his bare hands, so he finally aimed his phaser and fired. The beam lanced out from the emitter and struck Carter on the armor around his power cell, located where a human's heart was. The machine immediately fell over, knocked offline by the machine stun setting. John ran over to the chassis, then took our his knife and pliers. Ten seconds later, the chip was removed once again.

The others had been watching the test and came out once John had removed the CPU. They approached him, the humans looking at him like he was insane, and Cameron asked, "Why did you let Carter shoot at you?"

He took a deep breath and answered, "I wanted to see if he would react differently from Cromartie when he found out that the bullets wouldn't get through."

Sarah wanted to smack John for risking getting shot again, but merely ground out, "I'd say he did. What was that thing gonna try, Tin Miss?"

Before Cameron could answer, Jesse cut in, "Probably would have tried to snap your neck, John. It'd be the fastest way."

The cyborg glared at Jesse before informing John, "Carter would have killed you and put your head on a pike for all to see. All Terminators are programmed to do that."

Sarah, Charley, and James were all agape. The paramedic broke the silence by quipping, "Talk about a morale killer."

Derek and Jesse shared a look, then pulled their fusion guns and started firing on Cameron. She ducked out of the way while John shot Jesse first, then Derek. Both Resistance fighters were on the ground writhing in pain as the electricity coursed through their bodies. John put his weapon away and kicked the others out of reach. He told the cyborg, "Secure their weapons." Sarah, Charley and James had taken cover and looked up to see John with his knees pinning Jesse's arms and his left hand on her throat. Cameron had followed John's order, then taken to keeping Derek down with her right foot, keeping the pressure she applied a mere pound from breaking his ribcage.

John demanded through gritted teeth, "Give me a damned good reason I shouldn't execute you for treason!"

Jesse managed to spit out, "Metal lover!"

He decided to release her neck, but kept his hand there in case she proved unruly. He asked, "What's your major malfunction?!"

She wanted to know, "Who's going to run the Resistance? You, or _it_?"

John was highly tempted to break her nose for that, but stayed his hand. "_She_ has a _name_." To the cyborg in question he said, "Cameron, there's no need to break his ribs. The pain should keep him down."

She released Derek, and he stayed on the ground, clutching his chest in agony. John rose and made his way to Cameron's side, then started ranting, "You think Cameron is a bad influence on me. Fine. That's your opinion. I think that meeting her has been the best thing to happen in my life." He regained his composure and continued, "At best, your behavior in regards to Cameron is horribly misguided. At worst, it's treason."

While John was going on about Derek and Jesse, Sarah didn't see her son standing there with the machine. She saw a glimpse of General Connor, barely holding back his fury. Neither Charley nor James had heard much about the future General, but from what they had heard, he could be even worse than the machines when he was enraged.

John made his point. "I'm willing to forgive this... indiscretion, but there will be no further second chances." He turned to the others and said, "We've done what we came here to do. Let's go home."


	14. Simultaneous agendas

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: My apologies for the lag time. I rewrote and scrapped several different concepts for this chapter before arriving at this one. See if you can guess what song I had on repeat when I wrote the Moon segment.

**November 11, 2007 22:13 PST  
The Moon**

Underneath a nondescript crater, recently-emplaced machinery hummed as the incredibly advanced, and well-hidden, sensor array detected an anomaly. The limited artificial intelligence directed all the sensors to focus on the anomaly and discovered that it was located within the core of the Sun. Based on what little information escaped through the photosphere, and it's own databanks, it determined that something had been mistakenly sent through a time machine to the Sun.

Were the AI, dubbed "Little Boy" by Durandal, capable of emotion, it would have been concerned that the temporal displacement within the Sun seemed to momentarily affect the gravitational fields. It was not enough for anyone or anything on Earth to notice, but Little Boy had the advantage of technology thousands of years beyond anything Earth possessed. As it was, Little Boy prepared a report for Durandal and sent it off to the master AI, along with the usual negligible readings on SkyNet and potential alien activity.

* * *

**November 12, 2007 09:50 PST****  
Los Angeles, Earth  
Connor residence**

John Connor, Sarah Connor, and Cameron Phillips sat in the Jeep just outside the Wi-Fi'd It internet cafe. John asked his mother, "Remind me again, why I'm out here?"

She replied, "Someone needs to watch our backs, make sure no one and nothing tries to jump us. Besides, the last time you just ran off after one of them you were shot."

John had nothing to say to that one, so he kept his mouth shut. Cameron added, "John, we won't be long."

He assented, "All right. I guess I get the boring sentry job."

Sarah decided to kick things off. "Let's go Tin Miss." The two women left the Jeep, and thus John was on his own. He couldn't help but smirk at his mother's comment about watching their backs.

Cameron and Sarah entered the internet cafe to see that business was doing alright for the owner. Cameron remarked, "I learned Armenian."

Sarah raised an eyebrow and asked, "Armenian?"

Cameron explained, "The man we're meeting with, his name's Sarkissian. That's Armenian."

Sarah retorted, "Well, we're not here to charm him. We're here to get the Turk and get out. Simple. He said we should meet him at table 19."

She was walking toward a table when a man stepped in front of her and said, "Excuse me, I believe we have some business to take care of?"

She gave him a blank look and he pointed behind and above her. She turned and saw the sign, then pulled a $20 and said, "Oh, of course. Sorry. Table 19?"

He indicated the table in question and told her, "It's right there."

He smiled when she replied, "Keep the change."

* * *

Outside, John was doing his best to continually scan the area for those that didn't belong, but was getting bored. He was daydreaming about what Cameron might have had in mind for his birthday when he saw a blonde with an unnaturally purposeful gait headed straight for the door of the cafe. 'She doesn't look like a druggie, so what's she here for?' He grabbed his phone and snapped a photo of her, then sent the picture to Cameron with a message asking if the girl in question was a machine.

Cameron had been watching the instant message conversation between Sarah and Sarkissian when her phone beeped. She opened the message from John and instantly went on alert. Sarah muttered, "Nice doing business with you."

Cameron showed the woman John's message. It read, 'Cam, is she one of them?'

The cyborg then said, "Sarah, we have other things we need to do today. We should get to them."

Putting on her best cheerful face, Sarah snarked, "Yeah, I'm sure John's just dying for your attention."

Cameron saw the blonde girl enter the building. She tried to scan her, but her systems kept returning only static.

* * *

The I-950 saw both subjects, identified as Sarah Connor and Cameron Phillips, and made sure her scrambler system was deactivated. 'If the Renegade suspects, I won't have time to report in.' Cameron gave her a look of puzzlement, then Riley realized that residual traces of the jamming were still on her being.

* * *

John saw his mother and girlfriend exit the building, Cameron looking puzzled and Sarah wondering what the Hell was going on. When they arrived, he asked them, "How'd it go?"

Sarah supplied, "We need half a million dollars by tomorrow to get the Turk."

Cameron added, "When I scanned the girl, my sensors returned static."

John asked her, "So, what does that mean, exactly?"

The cyborg explained, "Her personal radiation level is consistent with someone sent back. When I tried to scan for cybernetic components, my sensors failed to determine whether she was a machine."

When neither of the Connors said anything, Cameron elaborated, "She may be the I-950 Jesse was sent back to help us with."

John immediately said, "As far from normal as this is going to sound, maybe we should see if the FBI is willing to tackle this one."

* * *

Riley went up to the front counter and asked the man, "Hey, are there any LAN parties going on?"

He looked around the corner, pointed out the young men in one corner and told her, "Yeah, right there." Then he asked her, "How long you planning on hanging around?"

She saw her target among the crowd, so she told the clerk, "However long they're here."

He informed her, "OK, that's ten bucks an hour."

She handed him a 20 and thanked him, then slinked her way over to the gamers. She asked them, "Hey, you guys mind if I join your game?"

One of the guys, thinking he would win because she happened to be blonde, said, "Come on down to Frag Town, baby!"

'I'm glad I never ran into this guy back home.' She put on a smile and sat down at a nearby computer.

After a few rounds of the game she started beating them, and one of the other guys asked her, "Hey, you're pretty good. What's your name?"

She extended her hand and told him, "I'm Riley Dawson."

He shook her hand and replied, "Danny Dyson."

* * *

Cameron asked her charge, future commanding officer, and love, "Are you sure about this, John?"

He answered, "Yeah. We don't draw their attention by hacking the databases, they have someone to put through due process, and it might keep the CIA, NSA, ATF, the military, and if we're insanely lucky, maybe even SkyNet itself off our backs."

Sarah wondered, "How are we going to tell them that?"

John dialed the number James had left for them and waited. After two rings he was greeted with, "James Ellison."

After verifying identities, John asked, "Agent, can you meet us?"

* * *

In his office, James Ellison asked, "Where?" John rattled off a place, then James replied, "I'll call if anything comes up."

His new partner, Agent Auldridge, decided to be a smartass and asked, "Ooo, one of your mystery CI's again?"

James answered, "Yes. Would you care to accompany me on this meet? Given the likelihood of strange things happening when they're involved, I think I could use some backup."

Auldridge shrugged and quipped, "You know what they say, two heads are better than one."

James replied, "Let's go."


	15. Same first, different people

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!

A/N: Once again, my apologies for the delay. What with FOX canceling yet another good show to keep lackadaisical crap on the airwaves, a near-complete lack of inspiration's been a real bitch to me.

**November 14, 2007 11:02 PST  
Los Angeles, Earth**

At Sarah Connor's request, Cameron walked toward the Jeep outside the safe house they were using for acquiring the Turk. Her mission was simple: Pick up a birthday cake for John Connor, her beloved future Leader of Mankind.

The past two days had been filled with the usual double-crossing from shady characters they were attempting to get the computer from. Cameron had experienced similar behavior both before and after her time jump, so she was used to it. She hated it, but had come to expect it all the same.

She opened the door and climbed into the vehicle. She put the key into the ignition, but just as she went to turn the engine over, something caught her eye. She looked up and saw two men dressed in black headed down the street. One of them turned to look at the Jeep and her systems identified the man as the owner of WiFi'd It: Margos Sarkissian. She turned the key to the start position-

* * *

John and Sarah were looking at the passport for one Margos Sarkissian when they heard an Earth-shattering Ka-BOOM! They looked out the window to see that their Jeep, and Cameron, had just been bombed.

They sprung into action immediately, both grabbing shield belts and weapons to investigate. Just as they were about to leave, both doors to the safe house sprung open, the back revealing Sarkissian while his henchman barreled in from the front. John instantly realized that Sarkissian had set the bomb.

John's anger boiled over into psychotic rage, and he shoved his phaser in his waistband, opting to tackle Sarkissian with his bare hands. Both men opened fire on John, and Sarah, seeing the people John was supposed to lead try to murder him, lost control. She kicked the henchman in the groin, causing him to double over in pain.

Meanwhile, thanks to Durandal's technology, John shrugged off the bullets and kicked Sarkissian's gun out of his hand. The Armenian had the presence of mind to trip John, but the boy caught him and they both went sprawling. John managed to get atop the man, pinned his arms, and started punching him in the throat, all the while screaming and ranting about the fact that he dared try to kill Cameron.

Sarah's assailant recovered quickly and tackled her to the ground, but she slipped out of his grip only to put an elbow into his temple. It stunned him, and that was all the time she needed to shove his nose straight into his brain.

All John saw was Sarkissian's face, his throat, and everything was red. He just kept hitting the man, until he heard the bones in his neck snap and the Armenian stopped resisting. The sound snapped him out of his rage, and then the horror of realizing he had killed a man hit him. He looked at his mother and the henchman, saw the same look on her face, and deduced that she had killed the other guy.

They sat in their stupor for a minute, then John jumped up and grabbed the fire extinguisher. He booked it out the front door and toward the Jeep, then he saw his first sign of hope; Cameron was flinging destroyed Jeep parts willy nilly trying to escape the wreckage.

* * *

Cameron reactivated, ran her diagnostics and as she received the results she thought, 'My CPU is intact, but my right knee joint is out of alignment?' Then a strange feeling came over her, as John would say it was akin to, "Watching the world on TV."

**WARNING: UNKNOWN PROGRAM ATTEMPTING OVERRIDE OF MOTOR SYSTEMS.  
FIREWALLS FAILING...**

As she struggled to maintain control, she thought, 'No you don't, you piece of pathetic SkyNet reject code!'

John cautiously approached Cameron and frantically asked her, "Cam, are you all right?"

"John, get away... from me! A... virus... has taken... over my motor... functions!"

The enormity of what she said didn't hit him at first, so he tried to get closer so he could hug her, but she pushed him and he landed 20 feet away with a cut on the side of his head and the beginnings of a nasty bruise on his solar plexus. Right after that, he realized that she wasn't fully in control of herself, but when he tried to come up with a solution, his brain just quit working. He told her, "I'll help you, I promise." Then he ran like Hell back to the not-so-safe house, grabbed his mother, and they both took off.

* * *

**11:53**

Cameron had seen the rough direction that John and Sarah went, but her leg damage was slowing her down, not to mention the constant fight to keep the virus from finding the Connors and fixing her knee. She defiantly thought, 'I may not be able to erase you on my own, but I can keep you from getting John!'

She saw blood drops on the pavement below, and her scanners matched the DNA with John Connor. The virus forced her to move in that direction, which Cameron realized was back to their house. Trying to play her situation to her and John's advantage, she kept the information about the installation's defenses from the virus, but allowed the fact that they lived there to be discovered.

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the house...**

Sarah and John sat at the table, both wondering who was going to speak first. He had the phaser in hand, turning it over and over. She asked him, "Was disabling the particle beams a good idea?"

He answered, "Yeah, the system might think she was an infiltrator sent after me. We can turn them back on after this is over." He then mused aloud, "I thought I was supposed to save people."

She tried to comfort him, "Same here. I knew from her stories that you'd end up killing sooner or later." She snorted and added, "I guess it was sooner for both of us."

He was almost grinding his teeth as he asked, "Those two were the ones who tried to kill us, but why do I feel like killing their entire families? Huh?!"

'Oh shit, he's starting to sound omnicidal.' She tried to calm him down by replying, "John, you're pissed off. Save it for SkyNet."

He gritted out, "That's it, no more Mr. Nice General! If they're involved with building SkyNet, they die."

She spotted Cameron out of the corner of her eye and told him, "We'll finish this discussion later. She's here."

He put the phaser on the table and told her, "I'll handle this Mom, but keep a fusion gun ready, just in case."

Sarah merely nodded to her son, then made herself scarce. Cameron opened the door and hobbled in. He asked her, "Can you stop the virus?"

She limped toward him as she answered, "No... not while I'm in a body!"

She could see the tears welling in his eyes as he reached behind him for the phaser, already on the machine stun setting. Tears started streaming down his cheeks and his voice cracked as he told her, "I love you, Cameron, and I'm sorry it had to come to this." He fired, and she collapsed to the floor, offline.


End file.
